Behind Closed Doors
by meli dav
Summary: Joey has finally found love, true love...but it's not with her boyfriend, it's with his best friend. Can a relationship started by a drunk night really last?
1. a beginning to change everything

**This is an AU fic. Everything has happened up to Cinderella Story and some more stuff. This fic has a tinsy bit of DJ in it but it is NOT and I repeat NOT a DJ fic. So if you like DJ together then you should avoid this because this is NOT a DJ fanfic. Anyway…I had this idea in my head for a while and I just really wanted to write a story on it and I thought Dawson's creek was best for it. So on to the story…**

"_What the hell were you thinking?" Joey screamed, pushing Pacey away._

"_What?" Pacey asked a little confused._

"_You kissed me! Are you insane?" Joey said pushing him again._

_Pacey moved back and put up his arms in defense. "After you kissed me!"_

"_That was two months ago! Also, I had a horrible day with Aj and I wasn't thinking AT ALL when I did that, plus, I was drunk. But you, you're sober right now and conscious of what you just did."_

"_Well sorry for payin' back the favor, Potter."_

"_You should be! Tell me, what ran through your head as you kissed me, huh?"_

"_Nothing obviously. It was just a kiss Joey."_

_Joey got closer. "Not between us Pacey. Do you remember Dawson? Yeah, he's my boyfriend and your best friend. What do you think will happen when he finds out?"_

"_He won't find out Joey. I have no plans to tell him and I hope you don't either…"_

"_Of course not! He doesn't need to know about your, your horniness."_

"_Horniness? Jo, if I was horny I wouldn't grab you, I'd grab a playboy. Now can we please just pretend like this never happened?"_

_Joey pointed a finger at him, "Pacey, If you ever…"_

"_I won't try it again! I promise. Besides, I'm leaving tomorrow for the summer, remember?"_

_Joey took a deep breath and chuckled. "Now whenever I come on Dawson's dock I'll remember your sorry ass."_

_Pacey smiled his cocky grin. "My ass is anything but sorry. Many women stare at my ass Potter so don't dis it."_

_Joey rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry if I offended you, Mr. Ass. Pacey, can we please get back to the wedding? I want to dance," Joey said taking hold of his wrist and dragging him back to the house._

That was the last time Pacey and Joey had seen each other. The next day, Pacey left for the keys on his boat for the whole summer. Joey wanted to go see him off but she had work that day and there was no way for her to get off.

Joey sat in front of her house with her can of cherry coke. The can was held up to her ear so she could hear the cracking from the cherry pop rocks she threw in the can.

"I knew you would like pop rocks in a can of pop," Pacey said as he rounded the corner of her house.

Joey stood up and smiled then hugged Pacey. "Well if it isn't Mr. Seven seas himself. Nice of you to grace me with your presence."

"I thought I should, you being my home keeper and all."

"Home keeper? Did Doug throw you out while you were gone?"

"That would be a Yes. Seems that deputy dork has a new lover and wants to be alone."

"Doug? A lover?" Joey asked raising an eyebrow.

Pacey shook his head in agreement. "I know. The weirdest part is that it's a girl."

Joey put her hands on her hips. "Is this your way of asking to live here at the B&B?"

Pacey pouted his lips. "Maybe."

At that moment, Alex and Bessie ran out of the house.

"Pacey!" Alex yelped gleefully as he jumped on him.

Pacey bent down and picked up the smiling toddler. "Is this Alex? You're so big. How old are you?"

Alex held up two fingers. "This many!" he said smirking.

Pacey couldn't help but smile back. "You're so old! I guess its big boy Alex now."

Bessie walked up to Pacey and gave him a hug. "How've you been Pacey?" Bessie said ending the embrace.

"I've been good Bess. The keys were so beautiful. I had to work a little because I ran out of money," Pacey said with a chuckle.

"I can tell," Bessie said scanning him over. "You look buff; also, you have a nice tan."

Joey cleared her throat and all three looked at her. "Sorry to interrupt the bonding here but um, dinner is going to get cold."

"Oh that's right," Bessie said taking Alex. "You are staying for dinner, right Pacey?"

Pacey followed Bessie into the house. "Actually Bessie, I need to ask you a question?"

"About what?"

"Living arrangements."

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"So I practically have to be the personal slave around here?" Pacey said leaning his chair back.

"Pretty much yeah," the Potter girls said in unison.

"…It's manageable I guess," he said right before the door opened.

Dawson Leery walked into the room and squeezed Joey's shoulder. "Hi Joey."

Joey lifted up a corner of her mouth slightly. "Hi," was all she said.

Dawson sat down and looked at Pacey. "You're back already?"

"Yup, came in this afternoon. I would have come and said hello D, but the Potters' three kept me here all day."

"Oh," Dawson said shortly before turning back to Joey. "Do you want to watch a movie tonight, Joey?"

Joey stood up and picked up some dishes. "I don't know if I'm doing anything tonight Dawson," she said before walking into the kitchen.

Pacey stood up and picked up the remaining dishes and followed Joey into the kitchen. She was washing at the sink and Pacey walked up to her.

"You okay Jo?" Pacey asked placing down the dishes.

Joey shook her head. "I'm fine…really," she said still focused on the dishes.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, just getting ready for another fun filled night of old crappy movie watching," she said scrubbing at a dish.

Pacey picked up on her sarcasm and smiled before sighing. "Aw shucks, I was hoping we could do something tonight. You know, party one last time before summer is over and we start school on Monday."

Joey rolled her eyes. "Pace, you tend to party with sex and alcohol. I think I'll pass."

Pacey shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, tell me how Jaws is, Okay?" he said before walking away.

"Pacey wait…"

Pacey turned around to grin at the brunette. "Yes?" he said innocently.

Joey wiped her hands with the towel. "No sex."

Pacey raised an eyebrow. "But alcohol?"

Joey smirked. "Gotta have fun sometimes. You bring the booze, I'll bring myself."

"Hey wait a sec…that's not an even trade. You are free to bring but I have to 'find some alcohol that fell off a truck.' That's not cheap you know."

Joey walked up to Pacey and placed the towel on his shoulder. "I have to tell Dawson that I have plans with another guy and Pace, this is me we're talking about, and you know I'm a pretty cheap drunk."

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"…And I swore I would never talk to you again but I did, didn't I Pacey?" Joey slurred her words as she clung onto Pacey and her bottle of strawberry vodka at the same time.

"Yes you did," Pacey said with a slight slur as he clung onto the upper part of her thighs as he carried her on his back.

"You are so strong. You can put me down now," Joey said letting go.

Pacey let go of Joey and she dropped to the floor. Pacey kneeled down next to her to see if she was alright but Joey started laughing. "I guess I fell," Joey slurred between laughs.

Pacey started laughing too. "I dropped you."

Joey sat up and pushed against Pacey's chest so he lay down next to her in the grass.

"I like this strawberry vodka. It tastes…fruity," she said taking another gulp.

Pacey grabbed the bottle and took a gulp himself. "It tastes more like strawberries."

Joey started chuckling again. "Strawberries are a fruit, Witter!"

Pacey joined in and the two were laughing up a storm on the lawn of Joey's house. Once the laughing died down, Joey let out a sigh.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time," Joey said.

"Really?" he said taking another drink and passing the almost empty bottle back to Joey.

Joey took in another gulp. "Yeah, Dawson never wants to do things like this…ever. All he wants to do is watch stupid movies with me. Even Bethany gets to go out with him at night at least."

"Who's Bethany?" Pacey asked remembering of his three month absence.

Joey moved her arms in a drunk like way. "Oh, she's just Dawson's other girlfriend I guess."

At that, Pacey spit out his drink. "What? Jo, Dawson's cheating on you?"

"Eh…yeah. Bethany moved in about two weeks after you left. It was about a month ago when I caught them."

"What were they doing?"

"Dawson was banging her," Joey said casually.

"Dawson? Mr. Forever virgin was having sex with some girl?"

"Yeah, he always had a thing for blondes so…It's really not that big of a deal."

"Yes it is. Joey, he's cheating on you…Please tell me you two never…" Pacey said making hand motions.

Joey shook her head furiously and laughed. "Never, not even close. I barely kiss him anymore. I just…there's nothing there. I never felt anything when we kissed. What Dawson and I had was safe and that was it. You know, I think that's why I started dating him again. I wanted to take the easy way out. I mean, if I did what I wanted I would be dating you now."

Pacey felt a slight headache so he rubbed his head. "Me? Why would you want me?"

Joey rolled over so she was on top of Pacey. "Many a things Pace. As much as I don't want to inflate your enormous ego anymore, well, I'm drunk so…You know you're hot Pacey. You're like the American badass and who wouldn't want you. Besides, you are a great kisser. My knees went weak every time we kissed. I still get butterflies from just being near you. What about you Witter? Felt any flying friends lately?"

Pacey wrapped his arms around Joey's waist and brought her to eye level.

"I still get nauseous around you Potter."

Joey rolled her eyes. "Great complement there Pace."

Pacey wiped away her loose hair from her face. "What I meant was…you still give me butterflies whenever I'm around you."

Joey smiled and touched his lips with her fingers. Pacey smiled and kissed her fingertips. "I could kiss you right now," he said.

Joey leaned in. "No one's stopping you."

Pacey gently put his hand into her chestnut hair. "I wish you would," he said before connecting his lips with hers.

Joey put her hands on Pacey's back then rolled over so Pacey was on top. They kissed hungrily at each other, letting their hands roam about the anatomy of the other. Pacey moved his lips down from hers to her neck. His hand that wasn't on her shoulder explored her body, finally resting on her breast. Joey let out a soft moan before opening her eyes and shaking Pacey. After a few seconds he got off of her and Joey got off her back and crawled a few feet to the street before vomiting. After she was done, Joey laid back down and held her head.

"Jo?" Pacey said standing up and walking to her.

Joey shook her head. "I don't feel so good."

Pacey smiled and helped Joey to her feet. He picked her up and carried her into the house. He almost ran into a few walls, since he was starting to become sober as well, but managed to make it into Joey's room without hitting any. Pacey laid Joey down and covered her with a blanket.

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Bessie shook Pacey and then flicked his head. Pacey touched the part of his head that was flicked and turned towards Bessie.

"Good morning to you too," Pacey said looking at Bessie with only one eye.

"I kept shaking you but you didn't respond. Breakfast is ready," Bessie said moving into the kitchen.

Pacey stood up and yawned before walking into the kitchen after Bessie. "Are all the Potter women always so violent?" he said sitting at the table.

"We're only when we need to be." Bessie placed a glass of water and two white pills in front of Pacey. "Take these."

Pacey put the two pills in his mouth. "What are they?" he asked before swallowing.

"Aspirin. I figured you would need them."

Pacey smiled. "Always one step ahead."

Bessie smiled back and looked towards Joey's room. "Where is she?" Bessie said to herself. She took in a deep breath.

"Please Don't…" Pacey started.

"JOEY! TIME FOR BREAKFAST!" Bessie yelled.

Pacey grabbed his head and they heard a loud thud. A few seconds later Joey emerged from her room rubbing her arm. Her hair was messy and she stalked over to the table.

"Bad night?" Bessie said to her sister.

Joey put her hands to her head. "If I ever see alcohol again it will be too soon," Joey said before wiping at her eyes.

Bessie put two aspirins and a glass of water in front of Joey. "That's what you get for drinking a whole bottle of vodka."

"How did you…"

"It was on the lawn when I went to get the paper. I'm not even going to ask about the puke."

"That was Joey," Pacey said before picking at his food Bessie gave him.

Joey looked at Pacey through tired eyes. "Was it? I don't even remember most of the night."

"Really?" Pacey said remembering EVERYTHING from the night before.

Joey raised an eyebrow at him. "Should I? What happened last night that I should be aware of?"

Pacey shook his head and looked back down to his eggs. "Nothing, we just got drunk and had a good time. Or at least it seemed we did."

Joey lifted up her shoulders. "I couldn't tell ya," she said before standing up. "I'm going back to sleep."

Bessie stopped Joey and sat her back down. "I don't think so Missy. Just because you have a hang over, doesn't mean you get to sleep all day. Finish your coffee and then take a nice cold shower. After that I want you and Pacey to go down to the store for me and pick me up a few things. Don't forget, you are babysitting Alex for me while I go see the lawyer about the money from The Icehouse."

Joey rolled her eyes. "Yay," she said sarcastically.

"Aw c'mon Jo, it's not all bad. You get to spend the whole day with me…alone," Pacey said suggestively.

Joey glared at him. "Pace, I might be hung over but I still know where the knives are."

Pacey raised an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?"

Joey smirked. "Only if it needs to be," she said before walking into the bathroom.

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"Toothpaste, milk, deodorant, cheese…" Joey said walking next to Pacey who was looking through the cart.

"Check, check, check and check," Pacey said touching all of the items listed. "Is that all?"

Joey looked down the list. "No, we need tampons."

Pacey put his hands up. "Whoa, I don't touch those."

Joey turned towards Pacey. "You should be use to them, growing up in a house full of girls and all."

"Well, seeing a basket full of bloody ones kind of did the exact opposite."

Joey pushed Pacey forward. "Too bad. I need to pick up some books so YOU get the tampons," Joey said walking away.

Pacey rolled his eyes and started moving forward. He saw a cute redhead and smiled at her. The redhead smiled back. Joey grunted and rolled her eyes.

"Pace…" Joey said from a far away isle. "…Tampons."

The redhead giggled and walked away. Pacey looked at Joey and faked smiled.

"Thanks Jo."

Joey fake smiled back. "Anytime," she said before disappearing into the isle again.

Pacey turned down the isle he needed and lowered his head. Jen and Andie were looking at different products. They saw Pacey and walked up to him and hugged him.

"Long time no see, huh Pacey?" Jen said.

"Three months long."

"How was your trip?" Andie asked.

"It was…nice. I enjoyed getting away but, of course, I missed you two dearly."

"When did you get back in?" Andie said.

"Yesterday. I saw Doug first so I could throw my stuff down before seeing everyone but it turns out Doug got a girlfriend and he kicked me out. So I went over to Joey's to see about a room. I'm living there now."

"I don't want to be rude Pacey but um, what are you doing in the feminine hygiene section?" Jen asked with a giggle.

"I never said living there was free. Bessie sent me and Joey on a shopping trip and lucky me, I got picked to pick up the tampons."

They giggled for a while then made plans to go out that night and said goodbye before parting ways. Pacey walked down to the book isle and saw Joey standing there, wiping at her eyes.

Pacey put the cart to the side and walked over to her. "Are you okay Joey?"

Joey wiped away the rest of her tears and slightly smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Pacey asked concern.

Joey shook her head and gained back her composure. "Umm Hmm. We should go uh, check out so Bessie can go," Joey said walking past Pacey.

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Pacey leaned against the doorframe that led into Joey's room. He looked at the closed door then to the little boy wrapped in a Barney towel staring at him. Pacey smiled then knocked on the door.

"Joey, there's two eager boys waiting to play in the sprinkler," Pacey said into the door.

"I'm almost done," Joey responded.

"Oh, before I forget, I made plans to go out with Jen and Andie tonight."

"You mean I have to spend a whole night without you?" Joey mocked.

Pacey smirked. "Nope. You're coming with us at eight."

Joey opened her door quickly and looked at Pacey. "Thanks for not telling me…" Joey noticed Pacey's mouth fall. "What?" she said putting a hand on her hip.

"Nothing," Pacey said with a crackly voice. He cleared his throat. "Uh, nothing. You ready to go play?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm going to play in the sprinkler with you and my two year old nephew."

"I'm enjoying myself. I get to see you in a bikini and well, the view is nice," Pacey said with a cocky smirk.

Joey gave a glare to Pacey and roughly handed him his towel. "I know where you sleep Pacey. If I were you I wouldn't start with me because if you do, I swear I'll make sure that Pacey Jr. never comes out to play again," she said before giving a smug smirk and walking outside with Alex.

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The three played for two hours until Bessie got home. Bessie took Alex inside and dried him off before going to dinner and to see Bodie. Joey lay down in the grass while Pacey put everything away. Pacey finished and lay down next to her. They looked up into the slowly darkening sky.

"You know, I always wanted to touch a cloud," Joey said still looking up.

Pacey didn't move his eyes either but put his arms behind his head. "Really?"

Joey shook her head. "Umm hmm. You know how smooth water feels when you barely glide your finger tips across it? That's how I thought clouds would feel. Before my Mom died, we would sit outside and say what the clouds looked like."

Joey grew silent. Pacey grabbed her hand and rubbed it. He pointed to a cloud.

"That one looks like a fish on a bike."

Joey started laughing. She shook her head. "It looks more like a dragon."

"You're delusional, Potter," Pacey said before they started laughing.

After a while Joey stopped. "Pace," she whispered.

"Yeah?" Pacey said still not looking at her.

"P Pacey. There's a bug in my hair!" Joey softly screeched.

Pacey sat up and looked at her. He moved so he could see her face. There was a ladybug on her chestnut locks. Pacey smiled and picked up the bug. He flicked it and smirked at Joey. "They're all gone."

Joey smiled at Pacey but her smile quickly faded. "Oh god," Joey said before getting up and heading into the house.

Pacey followed Joey into the house. "Is there something wrong?"

Joey paced back and forth in the living room with a hand over her mouth. "I remember last night."

"Oh," Pacey said.

Joey kept pacing around. "We were supposed to get ice cream but we ended up going to your parent's house and stealing some alcohol. We got strawberry vodka and started drinking it right away. By the end of the night we drank the bottle. The whole bottle. You carried me to the house and then we lay in the grass. I told you about Dawson and Bethany. Then we start talking about how we make each other feel and we kissed. Then you're on top of me and you start kissing my neck before I threw up and you…you felt me up Pacey," Joey said putting her hand to her head.

"You didn't complain," Pacey said quietly.

Joey looked at Pacey and put down her hand. "I know I didn't but…this is wrong."

"Why?"

"Because Pacey, I have a boyfriend."

"So? He's cheating on you Joey. Don't you think you're allowed…"

"NO!" Joey cut off. "I said I wouldn't be like him."

Pacey moved closer to Joey so they were only a few inches apart. "Don't you deserve to enjoy yourself too?"

Joey looked away. "Pacey..."

Pacey gently grabbed her arms. "Remember last night Joey. Remember how good it felt. I know you enjoyed it too so don't say you didn't. Why won't you ever think about yourself?"

Joey shook her head but still looked into his eyes. "Pace, I can't."

Pacey let out a deep breath before letting her go. "Okay. If this is what you want…you know where to find me," he said before walking into the bathroom to change.

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Pacey reclined on his bed/ couch, reading one of those "girly" magazines. He thought it was about time that he read up on Women. He flipped to the page about how to find the right color for the inner aura when he noticed Joey standing next to the other side of the couch. Pacey lowered the magazine so he could see her better.

"Yes?" Pacey asked.

Joey took in a deep breath and fumbled with her still damp hair. "Okay."

Pacey sat up and put down the magazine. "Okay what?"

Joey took a seat next to Pacey but didn't look at him. "I want to do it."

Pacey sat closer and looked at her. "You mean…"

"I want to have the affair," Joey cut in.

"Look at me Jo," Pacey said.

Joey slowly faced him. Pacey held her hand and kissed it.

"It's going to be okay Joey," Pacey said softly rubbing her hand.

Joey felt her skin tingle under his touch. She bit her lip. "I know. For the past hour I was sitting in my room, thinking about all of the reasons why I shouldn't be doing this with you but for some reason I also thought about the reasons why I should. I know it's wrong but I don't care. For the past month I have been numb; completely numb from being happy or sad. Then when you came back I started feeling good again. I saw Bethany and Dawson in the store and it really hit me. Dawson is really cheating on me. I felt like balling but there you were, asking if I was alright and I started feeling better. I like myself around you and I don't want to lose it. I have never been so scared in my life Pacey, but I also have never felt so alive." Joey noticed the seriousness of her tone so she gave a small chuckle. "So, isn't there kissing involved?"

Pacey smirked. "Of course."

Joey rolled her eyes playfully. "Then why aren't you kissing me?"

Pacey started to hover over Joey, who had laid her back against the couch arm. "I was just getting to that," he said before kissing her.

After a few seconds, Joey pulled Pacey off her enough so she could look at his face.

"This isn't a sexual affair, got it?"

Pacey swiped some hair from her face. "Got it," he said before kissing her again.

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Jen, Andie and Dawson all stood in front of the movie place that was on the water. Joey walked up to the three and froze. "Dawson, I didn't think you were going to be here."

Dawson walked to his girlfriend and put his arms around her. "We haven't been together for a while so I thought I would tag along."

"Great," Joey said unheard.

Right as Joey was going to move away, Dawson caught her in a kiss.

Pacey walked up to the group with his candy for the movie and glared at the kissing couple for a second before meeting with Jen and Andie.

"We've been here two minutes and they are already making out," Pacey said with an annoyed tone.

"I'm just surprised that they're kissing," Andie said.

"Why?"

"I haven't seen them do ANYTHING romantic in like a month."

"No, longer than that," Jen chimed in. "I would say they haven't been like that since about the time you left Pacey. Then after that Bethany chick moved in, Dawson and Joey had gotten into so many fights. I don't know why they haven't broken up yet."

"Has it really been that bad?" Pacey asked with concern.

"Yeah," Jen said. "I overheard on of their fights about two months ago. Joey was yelling about Bethany and Dawson was calling Joey names. It lasted a good hour before Joey stormed off. Dawson went somewhere, probably by Bethany's house."

Andie added in, "Ever since I moved here I thought Dawson and Joey were perfect for each other but lately I just want Joey to dump the cheater."

"You know?" Pacey raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I know. Everyone knows except for Joey."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Pacey said under his breath.

Joey and Dawson joined the group with Dawson's arm over Joey's shoulder.

"It's nice to see you two on good terms," Jen said.

Joey smiled slightly before looking at Pacey. He had a hard look on his face. She moved out from Dawson's arm and took her candy from Pacey.

"Let's go watch the movie," Joey said walking to the benches.

Everyone followed her and took a seat. At the end of the movie Dawson's phone started ringing. He answered the phone and quickly got up.

"I have to go. My um, mom, needs me," he said quickly before leaving, not even saying goodbye to Joey.

"I should get going too," Joey said standing up. She hugged the girls and looked at Pacey.

"Are you going to go yet?" Joey asked.

"No," Pacey said walking with her after he said goodbye.

"Where are you going then?"

"Why don't you worry about Dawson," he said walking away.

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"Doug," Pacey yelled going into his brother's house.

"Hello to you too," Doug said coming out of the kitchen.

"You can't just throw me out!"

"I thought you were living at the B&B?"

"I can't sleep on the couch the rest of the year."

"Well I can't help you."

Gretchen walked into the house. "Looks like I came at the right time," she said.

Pacey turned around and looked at his sister. "Gretchen? I thought you were at college?"

"I was," she said. "It's a long story but now I'm living in Capeside. So, you're looking for a place to live?"

"Yes," Pacey said in a question form.

"You could live with me. I just bought this cute beach house and I have an extra bedroom."

Pacey smiled wide. "Really?"

Gretchen smiled back. "Of course. What kind of a sibling would I be to let you live god know where?"

"You'd be Doug," Pacey said looking back at his brother. "I'll move in tomorrow morning."

"Great," Gretchen said.

"Do you think I could spend the night by the house tonight? I don't really feel like seeing the residents of potter B&B right now."

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"Welcome to senior year at Capeside High," Principal Matthews said to the auditorium filled with seniors.

Joey walked into the room with Jack. The most of the auditorium was filled.

"Where do you want to sit?" Joey asked.

Jack looked around and noticed Pacey and Andie. "Let's sit by Pacey and Andie," Jack said leading Joey to the two.

The four greeted and sat down. Joey sat next to Pacey on the end and Jack sat on the other end next to his sister.

"Pacey," Joey said whispering to him but not looking at him.

"Jo," Pacey said back in the same way.

"Bessie told me that you moved out this morning."

"I did."

There was a short silence. "Care to tell me why?" Joey asked.

"Not really, no," Pacey responded.

"Where did you go last night?"

"I spent the night by Gretchen and mine's house, if you must know."

"You have a house with Gretchen?"

"Since last night I do. I had the option of living at the B&B, my boat, or Gretchen's house. I picked the house."

Joey looked at Pacey. "Why won't you tell me why you moved out?"

Pacey looked at Joey. "Jo, can we please get through this stupid assemble without having a fight?"

Joey out on an innocent look. "Who's fighting? I'm not. I just want to know why you moved out is all."

Pacey let out a breath. "Why do you keep asking when I keep saying I don't want to say anything here?"

"Why do you keep saying you don't want to talk about it here if I keep asking?"

"BECAUSE!" Pacey said louder but brought back down his voice. "It's about us, Joey."

Joey caught her breath. "Oh," she said quietly before looking back to the stage.

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Joey sat on the steps that led to Capeside High. She looked at her pink painted toenails and sighed. **_Two days and it's already over_** Joey thought to herself. Joey noticed something move in the corner of her eye. She looked at the object and noticed they were legs. Joey followed them up until she got to a face. Pacey was looking down at her. He didn't have on a smile but he wasn't frowning. He just was…looking.

Pacey reached out his hand. "Come with me."

"Where?" Joey said taking his hand and standing up.

"The true love. Apparently we need to talk about my moving out," Pacey said walking away with her.

"Yeah we do," she said.

Pacey stopped and looked at her. "Jo, we can talk when we get there," he said with a slight smirk before walking again.

The whole walk to the boat was silent. Once they got on board and were sitting, they just looked at each other.

"So…" Joey said with a slight nod.

"So… you want to know why I moved out," Pacey said.

"That's a good start."

Pacey stood up and walked around. "I had to move out, Jo. I can't be by you all the time. It wouldn't have worked out. I know that if I stayed there I would inevitably see you and Dawson together and that's not a scene I would like to see…"

"So this is about the kiss last night? Pacey, Dawson is my boyfriend. And no matter how much you and I both don't want him to kiss me, he is going to sometimes. Is that why you moved out?"

"One reason yeah. Joey, when I saw you two together I was angry. I don't know why I got so angry but I did. I would explode one of these days if I stayed in a place where things like that would be happening all of the time…"

Joey stood up in front of him. "So that's it! We're done because of one stupid kiss!" Joey said angry. "You're going to throw away what we could have because you get a little jealous?"

Pacey's mouth feel and he took Joey into his arms. Pacey gently stroked her hair.

"No Joey, you're misunderstanding me. I don't want this to end. I'm moving out so we can be together."

Joey moved back so she could look at his face but still stayed in his arms. "That doesn't make any sense."

Pacey smiled and wiped her hair from her face. "Sure it does," he said sweetly. "If I lived with you I would want to be close to you all the time. Bessie is there and one day I won't be able to control myself and kiss you in front of Bessie then soon everyone will find out about us. You don't want that do you?"

"I guess not."

"See, with me living with Gretchen we don't have to be careful because Gretchen is never going to be home so we won't get caught."

Joey moved her arms around his neck. "I guess you're right Pacey. Besides, after seeing what you look like in the morning everyday will turn me off," she said with a smile.

Pacey gave a cocky grin. "I don't believe you are miss universe in the A.M. either, Potter."

Joey rolled her eyes. "You know all this bickering we do really takes up our kissing time."

"Well then we should stop bickering then," Pacey said before kissing her slowly.

When the kiss was done, Joey smiled. "Mmmm," she said with her eyes closed.

Pacey started kissing her neck. "You like?" he said quickly before kissing her neck again.

"Very much," Joey said opening her eyes.

Pacey stopped kissing her neck and looked into her eyes. "How about we finish this downstairs?"

Joey placed a small kiss on his lips and grabbed his hand before moving towards the steps. "Only if you can resist me until we get there."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Pacey placed another wood block in place. He lifted up his arms and cut the wood in half with the ax. He had been doing that for a good hour and a half.

"Thirsty?"

Pacey turned around and noticed a smirking Joey looking at him with a towel and a glass of lemonade in her hands.

"Terribly," he said walking up to her.

Joey handed him the drink and she wiped off his forehead for him.

"Why are you doing this when it's eighty- something outside?"

"I am the slave remember," he said between gulps.

"But you're all sweaty."

"But it's hot isn't it?" Pacey said with a twitch of an eyebrow.

Joey took the glass from his hand. "Ha Ha. I think it's time to go back to work, servant."

Joey started walking away but Pacey grabbed her from behind and moved her up against the side of the house.

"Do your really think I'm going to let you go that easy," Pacey said bringing his lips to hers. He placed his hands on the sides of Joey on the wall. Joey wrapped her arms around his waist and brought him closer so they were touching.

After a while, someone walked up to the kissing pair on the wall.

"I never thought I would see you two making out," the person said.

Pacey and Joey stopped mid kiss and opened their eyes.

**They had been caught.**

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

New Chapter soon! Review, review, review!


	2. Burgers, F's and kissing

"Um, Hi Jack," Joey said wiping at her lips.

"Hey," Jack said smirking at her redness.

"What, uh, what are you doing here?" Pacey said as casually as he could.

"I thought I would come and give a proper welcome but if you're busy…"

Joey rubbed a finger on her head. "Jack, what you just saw was…"

"Long over do," Jack said with a smile. "Joey, relax. I'm not going to say anything and I don't think you're a bad person. In fact, I'm glad you and Pacey are…doing whatever it is that you two are doing. Ever since we caught Dawson, you've been miserable. Joey, you deserve to have some happiness."

Pacey felt the awkwardness of the moment. "So… do you want to go eat or something?"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Jack took another bite of his burger. "How long has this been going on?" he asked between swallows.

"About three days. Well, it officially started Sunday I guess," Pacey said before taking a drink of his pop.

Jack giggled slightly. "Officially? So you and Joey shook on it?"

Pacey smirked. "More like kissed rather than shook on it."

"I'm surprised that you two would do this."

"Why?"

"Because Andie cheated on you so you know what it's like on the other end and Joey…she's Joey. I didn't think she would cheat on Dawson or anyone for that matter."

Pacey took another drink. "But you need to look at the situation at hand, Jack. I'm single so I'm not technically cheating on anyone and Dawson is cheating on Joey. Joey has every right to be with someone else. It's really not that bad what she's doing because she isn't out banging some stranger. She's with me."

Jack's mouth fell open. "You two are having sex?"

Pacey chuckled and shook his head. "No, Joey made it clear that what is going on between us is sexually minimized."

"I hope I didn't sound like I'm condemning you two to hell with all my questions. It's definitely something I need to get used to but if this makes you guys happy then hey, go for it."

"I don't think you're the only one who needs to get used to this. Joey is still adjusting. Obviously, she didn't come tonight with us."

Jack gave Pacey a slight smile. "Give Joey some time. From what I saw, she seems very enthusiastic about the new 'closeness.'"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Joey tapped her fingers to the Jimmy eat world song running through her CD player. She had waited a half hour for Pacey before she started the walk to Capeside High that she knew too well. As Joey rounded the corner that led to the school, she noticed a person that she definitely knew…well.

Joey took off her headphones and put them around her neck.

"Where were you this morning?" she said approaching Pacey.

Pacey didn't look up but kept staring at a concrete block on the floor.

"I had a meeting with the principle. I couldn't call."

Joey rolled her eyes. "I bet." She looked down at Pacey and noticed how strange he was acting. Joey sat down next to him. "Are you okay, Pace?"

Pacey quickly shook his head and smiled at Joey. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Joey placed a hand on his arm. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm…great. Jo, I think I'm going to clean up true love tonight so I can't see you."

Joey took back her hand. "Um, Okay. I guess we can get together tomorrow."

Pacey shook his head. "Yeah…That'll work." Pacey kissed Joey's hand. "See ya later," he said before walking off.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"I think something's wrong with Pacey," Joey said sitting next to Andie.

"Yeah, he seemed a little distant today. What happened you think?" Andie said back.

"I don't know. He said he had a meeting with the principle this morning so maybe something went wrong there. Did he say anything to you?"

"No. he practically grunted his hello to me. Something must really be bothering him."

"I wish I knew what it was. I think I'm going to go see him tonight," Joey said with a smirk. **_Yeah, I'll go say hi,_** Joey said to herself.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Pacey sat on the bench in his boat. He looked down, staring at nothing but thinking about everything. His mind glided over every aspect in his life. Pacey went over everything that happened junior year. He tried to figure out how he ended up failing two classes and being one of the few to be on the "watch" list. No matter how hard Pacey tried, his mind always shifted back to Josephine Potter.

Last year, Joey had over taken his thoughts and his actions and everything about his self. The day he picked up Joey from a date with college boy was the day Pacey had completely lost himself.

_Pacey pulled his truck to the curb and put in park. Joey, clad in a white dress, was lying on the bench a few feet away from him._

"_You know that dress is ruined, right?" Pacey said getting out of the car and walking up to her._

_Joey sat up and wiped at her eyes. "So? This is MORGAN"S dress anyway," she said with a slight slur._

"_How much did you drink?"_

"_Enough to get drunk."_

"_With you that's not a lot. C'mon, let's get you home."_

_Joey held out her arms. "Pacey," she said with a pout of her lips._

_Pacey shook his head but smiled. "I'm NOT carrying you, Potter."_

"_Please? Um, I can't walk?" Joey said still holding out her arms._

_Pacey rolled his eyes and picked her up. "This is the last time I'm doing this."_

_Joey smiled like a little girl. "Thank you Pacey," she said getting placed in the passenger's side seat._

"_Yeah, yeah. Just try not to puke, alright?" he said getting in the car himself._

_Joey turned her head so she could face him. "I won't," she said with a smile._

_Pacey smiled back. "Do you ever have a bad looking day?" he said to himself but Joey heard._

"_Sometimes," she responded. "I look pretty bad now."_

"_No you don't," Pacey said trying to look at where he was going._

_Joey smiled at the blue eyed brunette next to her. She pushed the button to turn on the radio._

_**103.4 The moonlight. Love songs for lovers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.** The Radio said._

_Joey started laughing. "I never thought you would be into love songs, Pace."_

"_Hey, some of these songs are really good," Pacey said in defense._

"_What else are you hiding?"_

_Pacey looked at her. "There are a lot of things you don't know about," he said sincerely._

"_Like what?" Joey said with a smile._

_Pacey shook his head. "Doesn't matter. So, what happened tonight, Joey?"_

_Joey bit her lip. "I was the other girl."_

"_What?" Pacey asked._

"_AJ has a girlfriend named Morgan. Apparently, he was cheating on her with me but I never knew that. The whole time I was being used as his girl on the side," Joey wiped another tear._

"_Jo, I'm sorry," he said placing a hand on her knee. Pacey, who had just reached Joey's house, put the car in park._

_Joey looked at Pacey with sad eyes. "Do you know what he said to me when I asked him if I meant anything to him? He said, 'Of course not Joey. If I cared about you then I would have broken up with Morgan. I care about my girlfriend, not the girl on the side.' After he said that, that's when I decided to get drunk."_

_Pacey moved closer to Joey on the bench seat and wrapped his arms around her. Joey snuggled her face into his chest. She didn't cry, she just stayed in his arms._

"_Do you think anyone will care about me?" Joey said lifting up her head._

"_Oh god yes, Jo. Don't let this asshole get to you. You, Joey, are an amazing girl and any man would be lucky to have you."_

"_Really?"_

_Pacey moved some of her hair out of her face. "Yes, really."_

_Joey looked into Pacey's eyes and saw something new in them. Joey gave a small crooked smirk before leaning in and kissing him. She pushed forward, causing Pacey to lean back against the window. Pacey kissed her back with the same impact she kissed him. Slowly, the kiss died down and they came apart. Joey opened her eyes and looked at Pacey with wide eyes._

"_Did I just…" she didn't finish._

_Pacey sat back up. "Yup, you did."_

_Joey touched her lips. "O, I, um, I should get going," she said before leaving the car._

That was the day that Pacey J. Witter had fallen completely head over heels for Josephine Potter. He hadn't felt any different since then. Now, with the new kind of attachment they had to each other, Pacey felt that he had fallen even more for her, if that was at all possible.

As Pacey was lost in his thoughts, Joey walked down the stairs into the cabin.

"Hey Sexy," Joey said kissing him lightly on the lips.

Pacey looked at Joey. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay. Is there something on your mind?"

"Jo, I told you I had to clean because I wanted to be alone," Pacey said running a hand through his hair.

"I guess I should go then," Joey said turning around.

"You know the way out."

"Bye P…"

"Go! Just go," Pacey yelled.

Joey ran up the stairs and away from the boat. "I am such a dumbass," Pacey said to himself. He quickly stood up and went up to the boat. He looked around for Joey but she had already left. Pacey decided to walk back to his house.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Hard day?" Gretchen said to Pacey as he walked in the house.

"You don't want to know," he said sitting on the couch.

"What happened?"

Pacey took a deep breath. "I was at my boat when Joey shows up. She said she was worried about me because I was distant all day and I snap. I yell at her and tell her to go. I am such a dumbass but I just wanted to be alone."

"Why would you want to be alone?"

"I had a meeting with my principle today. It seems that I failed both English and Math last semester. If I don't pass these two classes when I retake them in the evenings and weekends then I won't be able to graduate. Now I feel bad because I yelled at Joey."

Gretchen sighed at her brother and stood up. "Get up," she said. Pacey got up and she pushed him to the door.

"What are you doing?" Pacey asked.

"YOU are going to apologize to Joey right now. She cares about you and I am not going to let you throw that away. Maybe you should tell her about today because she might be a better friend than I am."

Pacey stopped. "Are you kidding? She's going to think I'm even more of an idiot than I already am."

"No she won't. Go apologize and see what she has to say."

Pacey walked out of the house. "Fine," he said walking away.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Joey laid in her rowboat, one leg sticking out, and tried to read an old copy of Moby Dick. That didn't work very well. Joey flipped another half read page when she felt her boat rock a little. She lifted up her head far enough so she could see over the side of her boat. Pacey rowed up to her with a smile.

"Jo…" he began.

"Go away," Joey said laying back down.

"Joey, please."

Joey sat up. "I said GO! I'm trying to read."

Pacey had finally reached her boat. "I know you're mad at me…"

"Ya think?"

"And I know I was an ass…"

"That's an understatement," Joey spat.

"But I'm really sorry, Joey. I was having a really bad day and I didn't mean to yell at you."

"What happened? That's all I wanted to know."

Pacey swallowed the lump in his throat. "Jo, I failed some classes last year and if I don't pass them I won't be able to graduate."

Joey grabbed his boat and jumped into it. She hugged Pacey. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to take them in the evenings and the weekends. I'm really really scared. I know that you probably think that I am a complete moron and not worth even a fly's time, but I need your help. I can't do this by myself," he said snuggled into her soft hair.

Joey pulled out of the hug and smiled at him. "Pace, I don't think any of those things at all. You are not stupid…"

"Yeah right."

"You're not. You just had a rough time that's all. I would do anything to help you. You don't need me Pacey because I know you can do this by yourself but I will always be here for you, Okay?"

"Thanks," he said before kissing her once.

"Pacey, I want you to know that I always have your back, no matter what. Nothing is ever going to change that," she kissed him again.

Pacey smiled at her. "So are we okay?" he said taking her into his arms and resting her between his legs.

Joey placed her hand on his knee and rubbed it. "Yeah, we're okay."

Pacey rubbed a thumb on her cheek and smiled at the girl looking back at him.

"Joey, I…" he stopped himself.

"You what?" Joey said taking his hand and kissing it.

Pacey shook his head and smiled. "Nothing. I'm just really glad we're doing this."

Joey smiled. "Me too," she said.

Pacey leaned down and gave a Joey a soft sensuous kiss, hoping what he didn't say could be felt in it.

**_The next chapter will be about the end of first semester. Andie will be going sigh but not without a few good chats first. (Hint hint). _**

_**Review Review Review!**_


	3. Plans

AN: thanks for all of the reviews. Sorry that my grammatical skills are bad but hey, I ain't writing a novel here. Also, I know that the bug in Joey's hair and her getting scared thing was out of character but this is an AU fic and I highly doubt that Joey would cheat either. Guys, I have to have Joey still stay with Dawson for now, it wouldn't be cheating without another guy. Don't worry, don't worry, I'll make up for it I promise. it is four months later. To the story…

BEEP. BEEP. BEEEEEP.

The alarm in Pacey's room went off. Joey reached a tired arm up and turned it off. After a few seconds, she wiped her hair out of her face. She looked at the clock. 3:30, it read. Slowly, Joey lifted her self off the bed and went to the chair where her clothes were.

Pacey slightly opened his eyes from the movement and turned towards where Joey should be on the bed. When he didn't feel her he started to sit up. "Is it three thirty already?" Pacey asked turning on the table lamp.

"Yeah," Joey said starting to unbutton her pajama shirt but stopped when she noticed Pacey was still looking at her. "Close your eyes," she said holding closed her shirt.

Pacey closed his eyes and laid back down. "Every night you do this, Jo. You come over here around eleven and sleep until the damn alarm goes off at three thirty and then you leave. Do you know how much I hate that alarm now? I cringe every time I hear something that sounds even remotely like that stupid alarm…"

Joey sat on the bed and put on her shoes. "I'm sorry you hate the alarm."

Pacey sat back up and looked at Joey. "The point is not the alarm here, Joey. The point is that you always leave halfway through the night. When are you going to spend the whole night here?"

Joey smiled softly and ran a hand in Pacey's hair. "You know I can't sweetie; at least not until Bessie stops waking up at six."

Pacey grabbed Joey's hand before she could move it away. He put on a sad face. "I want you for a whole night. I want you to be there when the sun is up, not leave in the middle of the night."

She kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Sweet dreams, Pace," she said before leaving.

_**XXX**_

"That was the last book," Andie said into her completely empty locker.

"I can't believe you're actually leaving."

Andie turned and sadly smiled. "Harvard awaits, Pacey."

Pacey tried to not be sad. "Harvard…wow. You're a college girl now."

She nodded her head. "Yeah." Andie noticed Pacey's eyes had shifted somewhere else. She followed them and noticed they were focused on a certain brunette.

"Pacey?" Andie said with a smirk.

Pacey quickly moved his eyes back to Andie. "Yeah?" he said quickly.

"I noticed you were looking at Joey," she said with a sad undertone.

Pacey caught his breath. And put on a smirk. "Pss! That's funny Andie. Me, look at Joey, why would **I** want to look at miss sworn enemy #1 herself. She might…" Pacey said rambling on.

Andie let out a sigh. "STOP! Pacey, I know okay. I know about you and Joey."

"But…how?"

"I overheard you talking to Jack about it a few days ago."

Pacey rubbed his neck. "Andie I'm sorry…"

Andie shook her head. "Don't be sorry. There's nothing to be sorry about. We're not together anymore and we haven't been for some time. I feel sorry for you, Pacey. Look at yourself. You can't even have one conversation with me without staring at her…"

Pacey felt himself blushing.

Andie frowned at his blush. "Have you told her yet?"

Pacey raised an eyebrow. "Told her what?"

"Have you told Joey that you love her?"

Pacey's mouth fell open and he couldn't say a word.

Andie rolled her eyes. "I'm going to take the illiterate moron look on your face as a no. Don't seem so surprised that I know you love her, Pacey. You look at her…you look at her how you used to look at me."

"Andie…"

Andie shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder. "You really need to tell her, Pacey. See you tonight," she said walking away.

_**XXX**_

Joey quickly went into the shed, closed the door and placed her back against it. Pacey looked up from the floor he was sweeping to see a smirking Joey.

"Josephine, what brings you here?" Pacey asked putting the broom away.

"I was heading to the library to pick up a book and I took a little detour," she said walking to him.

Pacey wrapped his arms around her waist. "And that detour ended here, huh?"

Joey bit her lip. "Actually it ended at the beach. I decided to walk over here and say hey."

"It was nice of you to stop by," Pacey whispered before kissing her.

Things heated up right away. He picked her up and placed her on a counter. Before things went any further than kissing, which they tended to lately, Pacey broke away and moved back.

"What's wrong?" Joey said out of breath.

Pacey inhaled deep, trying to catch his own breath as well. "Nothing. I just…I want to talk."

Joey brought a hand to her mouth. "About what?" she asked quietly.

"Noo, not like that," Pacey said shaking his head and smiling before moving back to her. "I was thinking about a way you could spend the whole night with me," he said moving back between her legs and bringing her closer on the counter.

"How?" she asked putting her arms around his neck.

"Well, I was thinking we could avoid Bessie in the morning by not having her there."

"Come again?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"we could go away this weekend, Jo. Just me, you, and no one else. How does that sound?"

Joey kissed him on the forehead. "It sounds wonderful Pace but when you were coming up with this plan you forgot one tiny but plainly obvious setback. How are we supposed to go somewhere for the whole weekend alone and have no one notice?"

Pacey placed his forehead against hers. "Shiiiit. I didn't think about that. I'll find a way…somehow," he said hugging her close.

Joey rubbed Pacey's head that rested on her stomach. "I'm sure you will, Pace."

_**XXX**_

Jack paced back and forth in the kitchen. Andie stood a few feet away with her arms crossed.

"so your orientation is at four, right?" Jack asked not looking at his sister.

Andie rolled her eyes. "For the millionth time Jack, orientation IS at four on Friday."

Jack nodded. "Good. So we'll leave at twelve and we'll be in Boston by then."

Andie placed her hands on his back, causing Jack to stop moving. "Jack, you need to relax. Everything will be okay."

Before jack could respond, Pacey and Joey walked in smiling. Andie looked at Jack before turning to greet them.

"Some party you have here," Pacey said with a laugh.

"I know. I didn't think so many would show," Andie said about the 40 sum guests in the other room.

"Not every day someone gets to go to Harvard," Joey said with a smile.

"Yeah well…" Andie said putting her head down.

Joey gave a concerned look. "Are you okay, Andie?"

"Um, actually joey, I was hoping I could talk to you."

Joey nodded her head. "Yeah, sure."

"Great! Uh, let's go onto the patio," Andie said going outside. Joey followed.

Pacey rocked back and forth on his heels. "How are you, Jack?" he asked to lighten the mood.

Jack rubbed his temples. "A wreck. I'm not looking forward to this weekend."

Pacey placed a supporting hand on Jack's shoulder. "I know. Andie's a great girl and I hope that Harvard knows what they're getting."

Jack sighed. "I don't think I can do this."

Before Pacey could say anymore, an idea popped into his head. "What if Joey and I went with you this weekend? As in, let's say, a support system?"

Jack smiled. "That would be great! You two would really come along with me?"

Pacey smiled. "Of course, Jackers! What are friends for?"

Jack couldn't stop smiling. "Thanks, Pacey. I'll probably be spending the two nights by Andie's dorm so you and Joey would probably have to go to a hotel…is that okay?"

Pacey nodded. "Perfectly fine."

Jack's smile slowly faded. "Does Joey know about this?"

Pacey patted him on the back. "Don't worry, she'll go along with this…trust me."

_**XXX**_

Andie and Joey walked over to the railing.

"What's wrong, Andie?" Joey asked after a few seconds.

Andie took in a deep breath. "Joey, we need to talk about you and…Pacey."

"oOkay," joey said softly.

"Why are you doing this? Why with Pacey?" Andie asked.

"I…I don't know. It just kind of happened. I never thought it would last this long but I'm glad it has. Pacey makes me happy."

"Why won't you breakup with Dawson then?"

"I've tried, Andie. I've tried so many times but whenever I get a chance to, something always messes it up."

Andie shook her head. "End things with Pacey," she said shortly.

"What! Why?"

"Because you're hurting him! Pacey falls so hard for someone and he doesn't deserve to be hurt. You're going to keep hurting him if you keep this going, Joey."

"I can't end things with Pacey…I need him. I can't be without him. Pacey makes me feel alive and when I think about him I can't stop smiling. I don't want to hurt him, I don't Andie, but I can't let him go. I need him more than anything right now," Joey grew quiet.

Andie smiled slightly at Joey. "I understand, Joey. I know how Pacey can be. He's hard to let go. I want him to be happy and if he can be while making you happy then I'm okay with it. I don't want you to be sad, Joey, I just want you to be careful. You and Pacey are doing something that can really hurt one or both of you. Please be careful."

Joey hugged Andie. "I will," she said before walking back inside with Andie.

Pacey grabbed Joey right when she walked in and pulled her away from the people.

"Nice to see you too," Joey joked.

Pacey smirked. "Joey, I found away for us to get away this weekend. Are you still up for it?"

"Of course. How though?"

Pacey smirked wider. "Well…"

_**XXX**_

8:00P.M. that Thursday the day before the big weekend

Bethany pulled the sheet up to neck and laid her head on Dawson's chest. "When are you going to take me somewhere, Dawson?" Bethany asked playing with her blonde curls.

Dawson rolled his eyes. "I've taken you plenty of places."

"Yeah, to have sex. I'm not your sex slave Dawson. I would like to be taken out on a date sometimes."

"You know we can't, Bethany. J…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Joey might see us. I don't understand why you just don't dump the bitch."

Dawson pushed Bethany off him hard. "Don't you ever call Joey that again! You don't even know her."

Bethany rubbed where Dawson pushed her. "I'm sorry, baby. I just don't understand why you won't take me on a date. Joey isn't even going to be here this weekend."

Dawson scrunched his face. "What?"

"I over heard her talking to some guy about their plans to go to Boston with some guys named Jack and Andy this weekend when I was walking to class."

Dawson rubbed his chin. "she must have been talking to Pacey. She's going to be gone with him, Jack and Andie the whole weekend."

"she's going away with three guys?"

"No! Andie is a girl, Bethany."

"O, since she's not going to be around, can we go on a date then?" she asked getting closer.

Dawson kissed her. "Sure, Friday night," he said hiding his anger about what he just found out.

_**XXX**_

"Nothing like waiting till the last minute to get stuff for the trip Pace," Joey said walking with Pacey in the store.

"You didn't have to come," he said looking at the shelves.

"I can't come over tonight so I thought I would see you now. If you want me to go I'll go," Joey said pointing to the door.

Pacey kissed her. "I want you to stay."

"Yeah?"

"Of course."

Joey smiled. "Okay then."

"Hey, since you're staying, why don't you go get me some toothpaste?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said before walking away.

Pacey laughed to himself. His cart moved slightly and hit the shelf, causing some of the merchandise to fall on the floor. They were the condoms. Pacey was putting back the last box when Joey walked back up to him.

"Hey Pace I…What are you doing with those?" she said looking at the box.

Pacey looked down to the box of condoms and then back up to her. "I was…the cart hit the shelf and…I was putting them back when you came…" he got quiet and blushed slightly and putting the box back on the shelf.

"Okay," Joey said not looking at him.

They stood there in awkward silence for a few seconds before Joey licked her lips and looked at him.

"Um, Pacey," Joey said with a deep breath.

Pacey quickly looked up. "Yeah, yup?"

Joey caught her breath. "You should, um, you should get a box," she said pointing quickly to the condoms.

"Yeah?" Pacey said observing her face.

Joey tucked some hair behind her ears. "Uh, yeah. We should be prepared in case we…you know what? I don't like these socks. I'll get a different pair of socks while you get…them. I'll meet you at the check out line," Joey said before walking away again.

Pacey cleared his throat before he placed a box into the cart and walked away himself.


	4. a weekend to never forget

**_The chapter took a while for me to write. This chapter is going to switch between Boston and Capeside_**

Friday afternoon…

Pacey put the last bag into the truck. "That's all of them," he said closing the door.

Joey leaned her shoulder against the truck. "We're actually going away."

Pacey smiled and picked Joey up and spun her around, "A whole weekend," he said spinning her and laughing.

"Picking up my girlfriend Pacey?"

They stopped spinning and laughing at the voice. Pacey put down Joey and they looked at him.

"Dawson…what are you doing over here?" Joey said walking to him.

"I thought I would say goodbye since I'm not going to see you all weekend," Dawson said.

"So you came all the way over to Jack's house? That's a bit out of your way don't you think?"

"Nothing's too far for my girlfriend," he said with a smirk.

Pacey walked up to the two. "Jo, we need to get going," he said not looking at Dawson.

Joey nodded. "I'll see you later," she said to Dawson.

Dawson moved in and gave Joey a big kiss. After, he smiled at Pacey. "Take good care of her this weekend."

Pacey looked at him slightly. "I will."

Dawson rolled his eyes. "I know," he said before walking away.

_**XXX**_

Boston 8:45…

"…and then I fell into the mud," Joey said ending her story.

Andie laughed and kept putting things away in her dorm. "It sounds like you had fun."

Joey sighed. "Yeah. That was when me, Dawson and Pacey were just friends. None of this complicated stuff between us."

There was an awkward silence before there was a knock at the door.

"That must be the guy with the video I ordered for tonight," Andie said.

"I'll get it," Joey said moving into the living room where Jack and Pacey were to answer the door.

"You ordered a video?" a guy said looking down at the video then looked up. When he saw Joey he smiled. He had bright green eyes and red hair. "Hi," he chocked out.

Joey smiled back. "Hi Um…"

"JIM!" the guy said quickly.

"Hi Jim."

Jim handed Joey the video. "So are you rooming here?" he smirked.

Joey shook her head. "No, my friend Andie is. This is her dorm. I'm just visiting for the weekend."

"I hope you come back then," Jim said before walking away.

Joey closed the door and put the movie on the table in the living room.

"Who was that?" Pacey asked in a snotty voice.

"He dropped off the movie," Joey responded.

"Do you like him?" Pacey said slowly looking at her.

Jack and Andie quickly left the room.

"What?" Joey said with some attitude.

Pacey rolled his eyes. "You heard me. You were flirting with the guy!"

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes you were!"

Joey shook her head. "Stop! You just want to pick a fight with me for some reason."

"No I don't!" Pacey responded rudely.

Joey rolled her eyes. "If you're going to keep up with this then I don't want to talk to you."

"Fine by me," Pacey said looking away.

"Good!" Joey said turning away herself.

Once it was quiet, Andie walked back in and held up a piece of paper. "Party anyone?"

_**XXX**_

Capeside 9:10…

"That was delicious!" Bethany said linking arms with Dawson as they left the restaurant.

"It was alright," Dawson said.

Bethany gave him a worried look. "Are you okay, Baby? You seem upset about something."

"I'm fine."

"Are you…"

"I said I was fine! Damn it!" Dawson said walking ahead.

Bethany caught up to him and grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry baby."

Dawson looked at her and sighed. "It's not you, Bethany. I just have a lot on my mind right now and I didn't mean to lash out at you."

She stood in front of him causing him to stop walking. "You know what helps me when I have a bad day...A night drive."

Dawson put on a big smile. "Let's go," he said grabbing her hand and leading her to the car.

_**XXX**_

Capeside 10:30…

Jen walked down the deserted Adams St. Like most border Capeside streets, there wasn't a soul to be found. When she was about to turn the corner, Jen saw lights and a smelled a burnt rubber smell. She quickly turned the corner and what she saw stopped her dead in her tracks. A car lay in the middle of the intersection completely mangled. The passenger's side was pushed in and it looked like the car spun around a few times. There was smoke coming from the front of the car but the lights were still on. Jen ran up to the car and went to the driver's side. The driver was hanging outside of the window and blood was dripping from the forehead. She shook the driver to wake them up.

"Dawson! Dawson!" Jen yelled still shaking him.

After a few seconds he woke up. "Wha…Jen?" he said grabbing onto the wound on his head.

Jen smiled briefly. "Dawson, what happened?"

"A car hit us…Is Bethany okay?" he asked with his eyes closed still.

Jen looked over Dawson and saw Bethany. Her body was in a weird position and she wasn't moving. "She isn't moving," Jen said before quickly going over to the other side of the car. Jen put her ear close to her mouth and felt for a pulse.

"She's still breathing and she has a pulse."

Dawson opened the door and rolled onto the pavement. He grabbed for his arm.

"I think my arm is broken," he said to Jen who was back at his side.

"Okay, um…Don't move," Jen said before running to the payphone on the corner.

"911, what is your emergency?" the responder said on the other line.

"There's been a car accident."

_**XXX**_

Boston 11:15…

Andie slapped her body down next to her brother.

"I thought this was going to be an actual party, not a stupid get together. I'm ready to go," she said with a yawn.

Jack rubbed his neck. "Yeah, me too."

"You tell them, okay?" Andie said slouching in her chair.

Jack stretched his arms. "Whatever," he said standing up.

Jack walked up to Pacey who was talking to some girl. "Pacey, Andie and I are gonna head back to her dorm. It's been a long day."

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning," he said ignoring the girl for a second.

"Have you seen Joey?" Jack asked.

Pacey quickly shifted his eyes to the right then back to Jack. "She's still with some Harvard kid," he said with a hardened tone.

Jack said thank you and walked away. He spotted Joey on the other side of the room talking with a blonde boy who was clad in his Harvard gear.

"Joey," Jack said from behind her.

Joey turned around. "Hey Jack."

"Andie and I are gonna get going."

"Okay."

"Are you and Pacey going to go soon?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "I'm probably going to head back to the hotel soon but I don't know and really don't care if Pacey is leaving."

"You two are still not talking?"

"Nope."

"Good luck with sharing a room then," Jack chuckled.

Joey smiled sarcastically. "I haven't seem him all night."

"He's in the front. I'll see you tomorrow then," Jack said.

"Bye," Joey said before he left.

Joey ignored the boy she was talking to and looked around the room. Her eyes scanned all the faces until the saw the one she was looking for. Joey's eyes squinted when she noticed that Pacey wasn't alone. She felt her temperature rising so she decided to leave. As Joey stepped outside someone called after her.

"Joey, where are you going?" Pacey said following her outside.

Joey didn't look at him. "I'm going to the hotel," she said walking down the street.

Pacey started to walk next to her. "I'm not letting you walk the streets of Boston by yourself. There could be someone waiting the shadows for you."

"Like I'm all that safer with you walking by me. The hotel is two blocks away so there's not that many dangerous Boston streets for me to walk on. I can walk alone."

"Yeah but how are you going to get into the hotel?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "The key, Einstein."

"But whose wallet is the key in?" Pacey said.

Joey looked at him with an evil smirk. "And whose wallet is in my purse?"

Pacey made a small oh sound. "Then I guess I have to go back to the hotel with you."

Joey walked ahead once they reached the hotel.

_**XXX**_

Capeside Midnight…

Dawson winced when the doctor put the final stitch on his head.

"I'm done but I want you to stay the night so we can watch over you," The doctor said.

"Yeah, that's fine," Dawson said before the doctor left.

Jen walked into the room and looked over Dawson. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," he joked.

Jen smiled lightly. "What did the cops say?"

"They said they'll try and catch the guy who ran the red but there are a lot of cases of hit and runs on that street."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. They called my parents and Bethany's parents too but no one answered."

"Do you want me to go over there and see if anyone's home?"

"No, that's okay. Have you heard any news about Bethany?"

"She just got up. She broke her right leg and has some cuts and bruises on her face but she's doing well. She has to stay here a few days so they can make sure any organs weren't hurt. What were you doing with her anyway?"

Dawson replied with out thinking. "I took her out to dinner for the first time in six months."

Jen caught her breath. "Six months? You've been with her for six months?"

Dawson shook his head and lay down on the bed. "I don't want to talk about this tonight, Jen."

Jen shook her head. "You're right. We can talk tomorrow when you're back home. I'll see you later," she said before she left.

_**XXX**_

Boston 11:30…

Joey stomped into the room and walked straight to the closet. Pacey rolled his eyes and closed the door after him.

"I'm guessing you're still not talking to me," he said placing his coat on the chair.

"Nope," Joey said taking off her shoes.

"Fine. We don't need to talk this whole weekend," he said taking off his shoes.

Joey rolled her eyes and looked at him. "Why would you need to talk to me anyway? That GIRL you were with all night can talk to you."

Pacey's mouth fell open. "Is that what this is about? You're jealous?"

Joey moved closer to him. "I'm not jealous!"

"Yes you are," Pacey said moving closer.

"I wasn't jealous, I was hurt."

Pacey chuckled. "Yeah, you looked sooo uncomfortable talking to Harvard boy."

"But that girl was all over you and you let her be!"

"And that guy wanted to get into your pants."

Pacey and Joey were so close they could almost touch noses. They didn't know who made the first move but the next things they knew, Pacey was on top of Joey on the bed and they were kissing each other hungrily. He moved his kisses down to her neck.

"I'm sorry Pacey," Joey managed to get out before her shirt went over her head.

Pacey moved away slightly so he could take off his shirt. "I'm sorry too," he said quickly before finding her lips again.

Soft moans escaped her mouth and he couldn't control himself. His hands went straight to her pants and undid the button and zipper. Before it went any further, Joey pulled her lips away from Pacey's lips but he went to her neck.

"Pacey," she said trying to gain back some control. "Pacey," Joey said pushing on his shoulders.

Pacey stopped kissing her neck and lifted up his head so they could at each others face. "Hmm?" he muttered.

Joey took in a deep breath. "Condom," she said as she released the breath.

Pacey took a deep breath as well. "Right," he said getting off the bed.

Joey sat up and blushed at her half opened pants. Instead of pulling them back together like always, she took them off and put them next to her shirt on the floor. She covered up her almost completely nude body under the covers and turned towards Pacey. His shirtless chest was definitely nice to look at. Pacey wasn't lacking muscles but wasn't bulky. He was perfect.

Joey had finally come to terms with that fact. Pacey Witter, the boy who loved to make fun of her, is the one Person she can't be without. He was perfect and made everything perfect. Joey had never dreamed that Pacey would ever mean so much to her. When they first started the affair she was sure that it would only last a few days and then they would go back to what they were like. After a falling out less than a week later, Joey knew that things would never be the same nor did she want them to be. That was the best week of her life and she didn't want to give it up that easily. She felt something with him that she never felt with anyone-love.

Sure, Joey had loved Dawson. She loved him for a long time but after things started with Pacey she started to fall out of love with Dawson. What she felt for Pacey was different. Joey had something wake up inside her. Pacey had taught her everything about a relationship from the good and the bad. She put her heart and soul into what she had with Pacey and that scared her. She had never felt so deeply for anyone before. This was more than an affair for Joey but she didn't tell Pacey that. Joey hid her feelings and almost felt ashamed for feeling them because what they had could mean next to nothing for Pacey. And yet here she was, four months later, about to have about to giver her virginity to a man who wasn't her boyfriend and who she loved more than anything.

Joey smiled at Pacey who was searching through the suitcases. Pacey stood up straight and put his hands into his jeans pockets and looked at Joey.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Pacey ran a hand in his hair. "I don't think I brought the bag."

Joey's expression fell. "What?"

Pacey shook his head. "I put the bag on my dresser so I wouldn't forget THAT bag and I must have forgotten about it when I started packing."

Joey got out of the bed and grabbed her Pajamas out of her suitcase before going into the bathroom and closing the door.

Pacey leaned his forehead against the door. "I'm sorry, Jo," he said through the door.

Joey opened the door after she was done changing and smiled. "That's okay," she said walking back to the bed and getting in.

Pacey sat down on the bed and looked at her. "I could go down to the store…"

She shook her head. "It's probably past midnight already. All of the stores are closed, Pace. Besides, we have a whole day of walking around the campus with Jack and Andie so we should go to bed," Joey said turning off the light and moving over so Pacey could get in next to her.

Pacey got in and rested his arm on her hip. "Goodnight, Jo."

Joey turned over so they were facing each other. "Goodnight, Pacey."

_**XXX**_

Capeside 12:00 Saturday…

Dawson rocked back and forth in the rocking chair that sat on the front porch of his house.

"Hey," Jen said walking onto the porch.

Dawson smiled. "Hey," he said back.

Jen took a seat in the chair next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. I'm glad to be home."

"How's Bethany?"

"She's okay. I saw her this morning. They said she'll get out of the hospital by tomorrow."

Jen shook her head. "What are you doing to tell Joey when she gets back tomorrow?"

Dawson shrugged. "I'll tell her I got in an accident."

"Are you going to tell her that you were with Bethany?"

"Why would I?"

"Dawson…"

"She doesn't need to know Jen."

"But she has the right to."

"I don't want to hurt Joey."

"You should have thought about that before you started things with Bethany."

"I know. One thing just led to another with Bethany and before I knew it, it was six months later. Things are over between us now. I should have stopped it a long time ago."

"You need to tell Joey."

"I can't, Jen. I can't lose Joey again. I love her too much. Bethany meant nothing to me so Joey never needs to know. I don't want her to have another reason to leave me."

"What do you mean another reason?"

Dawson shook his head. "Nothing. All I know is that I don't want to lose her. She deserves someone who will be good enough for her."

Jen smirked. "And that someone is you? A guy who cheats on her for six months?"

"Kind of yes. I can make her happy and make her feel safe. She needs me."

Jen laughed. "You are one narcissist boy, you know that?"

Dawson sat forward. "You won't tell her, will you?"

Jen stood up. "It's not my place to. I just hope you do it for her sake."

_**XXX**_

Boston 12:30 Saturday…

Pacey walked hand in hand with Joey down the street to Andie's dorm. "You know what? We finally spent a whole night together," he said smiling.

They walked into the dormitory and Joey smiled back to him. "I'm glad we did," she said before kissing him.

Andie and Jack walked up to the kissing couple. "Finally you two are here," Andie said.

"Looks like you two are back on good terms then. Must have been a good night," Jack said with a smile.

Joey bit her lip and looked at the floor. Pacey rubbed his hip. "It was a little painful. Let me tell ya, sleeping in jeans is never a good idea."

Andie smiled at the mention of clothes when they were talking about last night. As much as Andie tried to hide it, she was still a little hung up on Pacey and she didn't even want to think about someone else being in the same bed as him let alone sleeping with him.

"Ready to go on the tour?"

_**XXX**_

Boston 9:00…

"And that was the last part of the tour for Harvard University," the guide said. Pacey and Jack sat on the stairs of the building, waiting for the girls to return from the small store.

Joey and Andie had finally come back.

"Finally, I thought you guys got kidnapped or something. I was about to send out a search team," Pacey said standing up.

"What took you so long?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. I went to the bathroom," Andie said.

They all looked at Joey. "Sorry. I walked around a little. The store was closed anyway," she said avoiding their faces.

Jack stretched out his arms. "I'm tired."

"Me too," Andie agreed. "See you two tomorrow?"

Pacey nodded and Joey shook her head. "Already? It's only nine. I'm…I'm not ready to go back to the hotel yet."

"We don't have to go to bed right away, Jo. I'll stay up with you," Pacey said walking with her.

Jack and Andie waved goodbye then walked away. Pacey and Joey headed back to the hotel.

_**XXX**_

Boston, at the hotel…

Pacey unlocked the hotel room's door and walked in. Joey stalked in after him. Pacey turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?" Pacey asked.

Joey gave a small smile. "Yeah, I was just thinking about something."

Pacey nodded slightly. "Alright. I'm going to go to the bathroom.

Joey smiled wider. "Okay. I'll um…I'll get ready for bed out here," she said walking to her suitcase.

Pacey emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later with his t-shirt and boxers on. Joey had gotten into bed and sat up looking at Pacey with a strange expression on her face.

"Are you sure you're okay, Jo?" Pacey asked getting in the bed next to her.

Joey bit her lip and looked at him. "Yeah, why?"

"You look like you saw a ghost or something," he said with a chuckle.

Joey tucked a lose strand behind her ear and lay back against the pillow. "I'm just a little anxious."

Pacey propped himself onto an elbow and ran his hand in her hair. "Why are you anxious?"

Joey turned her head to him. "You know why."

"Do you not like the trip?"

"It's not the trip, Pacey; it's what we could possibly do on this trip that will change us, especially me, for the rest of our lives."

Pacey retracted his hand from her hand. "Jo, I hope this isn't about what I think it is. When I suggested we get away for the weekend to spend a whole night together I didn't mean we had to sleep together. I don't want to make you do anything you…"

Joey placed a finger on his lips. "Shh, I know, she said scrunching up to his chest. "I never felt any pressure to anything tonight. I'm just a little nervous."

Pacey kissed her forehead. "You don't need to be nervous."

"I know but…I'm a virgin and you're not. I have never been close to having sex and you had it. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't even be in this situation…"

"I told you nothing has to happen."

Joey smiled. "Don't you understand, Pacey? I want to have sex with you. I feel so comfortable with you that there is no doubt that I want to do this. The only thing that scares me is that I won't…" she got quiet.

"You won't what?"

Joey shifted her eyes to the ceiling. "I won't measure up to the other girls you've been with."

Pacey shifted his eyes off of his elbow and more over Joey. "Don't worry about that. There is no way you could disappoint me. I'm just as nervous as you."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Why? You've done this before."

"No I haven't, not with you. Just because I'm not a virgin doesn't mean that I'm not scared too. You and I both know that the first time is all about you and, being the experienced one here, I'm worried that I might be all you hoped about."

"You won't disappoint me, Pacey. I don't have anyone to compare you to."

"There are ways I could…but I don't think I will disappoint you."

Joey smirked. "You're so sure huh?"

Pacey put on his cocky smile. "Yup. Lucky for you I've never had any complaints in that department."

"Lucky for me? Lucky for you. I don't think I'll stay dating you if the sex isn't good."

Pacey moved so he was completely on top of her. "Technically, we aren't dating so you could have left me if you wanted."

Joey ran a hand in his hair. "I know," she said.

Pacey moved away some of her hair. "And you didn't leave?"

Joey undid the first few buttons on her shirt. "Why would I? You make me happy, Pace, and I wouldn't trade that for the world."

Pacey sat up. "Jo, I don't want you to think that…"

"That what?" Joey cut in. "That I don't have to repay you for making me happy?"

"Yes. I don't want you to feel obligated to do this. I want you to do this only if you're positive about it. I don't want you to regret it."

Joey sat up in front of him. "I won't regret this, Pacey. I'm positive I what to do this with you tonight," she said pulling off his shirt slowly.

"But what about Dawson?"

"Pace, if I wanted him then I wouldn't be here with you."

Pacey chuckled slightly. Joey got on her knees and kissed him sweetly. Pacey put his hands on her back and lowered her to the bed. They kissed for a while until Joey started to squirm.

"What's wrong?" Pacey asked pulling away.

Joey grabbed his hands and moved them from her back. "You're hands were digging into my back, she said before bringing him back down to kiss him.

After a few minutes, Pacey's hand moved up under her shirt. Joey grabbed his hand and broke the kiss. She moved it to a button on her shirt.

"Take it off," she said putting her arms by her sides.

Pacey looked deep into her eyes and smirked at what he saw in them. One by one, he undid the buttons, never leading his eyes stray from hers. When all the buttons were undone he slid his hand up her stomach to her shoulders and took off the shirt. She lifted up slightly so he could pull it away.

Pacey ran a finger across Joey's silk smooth skin. He slowly made his way down her chest and onto her stomach. Once he reached the waistband of her Pj bottoms, Pacey ran his middle finger across the skin.

Joey giggled slightly at the feeling. Pacey smirked and kissed her stomach. His thumb hooked under the waistband and pulled it down to expose more of her. He looked up for the okay.

"Pacey," Joey said moving his hand lower so more was exposed.

His eyes never strayed from her as he slid down the fabric. Joey turned on her side so she wasn't facing him and scrunched to cover up her fully bare chest.

Pacey moved back next to Joey on the bed. "What's wrong, Jo?" he asked.

Joey took a deep breath and laid on her back s she could see him. She smiled at him. "Nothing's wrong."

Pacey smiled back. "If you're scared…"

She shook her head. "I want to." Joey leaned over and opened the drawer on the end table. She pulled out a condom and handed it to him.

Pacey looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "How did you…"

"The store WAS open," she said. "I picked up a pack."

Pacey looked at the package in his hand then back to Joey. She reached up and brought Pacey's face to hers. As soon as their lips met, they knew they were doing the right thing. Pacey reached over and turned off the light.

_**XXX**_

Capeside Sunday morning…

Bethany wiped away a tear form her bruised face. "So you're just leaving me?"

Dawson sighed. "I'm sorry Bethany. I love Joey and she deserves to be treated better tan this."

"But what about me? I thought you loved me."

Dawson shook his head. "We had fun, Bethany, no doubt about that. I never met someone like you but I don't love you. When I met you I was having a hard time with Joey and I needed a way out. It was only for fun."

Bethany took in a deep breath. "So you just were using me for sex. You're an asshole Dawson Leery!"

_**XXX**_

Boston Sunday Morning…

Pacey slowly opened his eyes. He slid his hand across the mattress until it was stopped by something warm. Pacey moved his eyes over only to be met by a smiling Joey.

"Good morning," Joey said kissing him softly.

Pacey smirked. "Good morning."

Joey pulled the sheets up to her chest and leaned on an elbow. "About last night. Did you…"

Pacey turned on an elbow. "Did I what? Enjoy it?"

Joey nodded her head. "Yeah. I mean I know that it was my first time and I didn't really know what to do…"

"Jo," Pacey cut in. "you were amazing. Everything about last night was amazing. The only person who needs to worry about last night is me."

"You have nothing to worry about. You had definitely exceeded my expectations and I felt very safe."

"Safe?"

"Yes, safe. Everything in my life has been so unpredictable. My mom, my dad, Dawson; all were things that occurred out of nowhere. But last night, last night was something I knew was going to happen and something I want to happen. I felt like nothing could hurt me. So yes, I felt safe."

Pacey smiled and kissed her. "I'm glad I made you feel safe."

Joey smirked. "Either way I can't take back last night."

Pacey sat up at the end of the bed and looked away form her. "I told you last night that if you didn't want to do it then we didn't have to. I didn't want you to regret it in the morning."

Joey sat up and put her legs on the sides of him. She ran her hands along his arms. "I don't regret having sex with you, Pacey. I don't want you to think that. Last night was one thing I'm positive that was right."

Pacey turned his body slightly so they could look at each other. "I'm sorry. I was just…"

"Being Paranoid? I can't wait to do it again, sweetie. In fact, we have an hour before we go back to Capeside. Have any ideas what we can do?"

Pacey turned all the way around. "I have one idea," he said before kissing her.


	5. Back to Capeside hell

Pacey looked at the meter to see how much gas had been put in the truck. He moved his eyes over to the car and smiled at what he saw. Joey had her head on the window and was fast asleep. The light came into the truck at an angle, causing her hair to be three different shades of brown.

Jack walked up to Pacey and smiled at Joey.

"She's still sleeping?" he said.

Pacey nodded his head and kept his eyes on Joey. "I could watch this woman sleep forever. She looks so peaceful," Pacey said with a little shake of his head.

"Yeah…" Jack agreed, "So how long till we get to Capeside?"

"About an hour. We should definitely be there by five."

"Great. I'm going to get in the car," Jack said getting in.

Pacey finished pumping gas and then got in himself. He started the truck and drove off. After about fifteen minutes of silence, Pacey turned on the radio. Joey jumped up at the loud music and hit her head on the glass.

"Ouch," she moaned while rubbing her head. Joey lowered down the radio and scowled at Pacey. "Thanks for the great wake up call there, Pace."

Pacey shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry Jo but how much sleep do you need? You've been sleeping for the past half hour now."

"And…" Jack added, "…I was getting bored."

Joey looked at Jack in the backseat and rolled her eyes. "Who wouldn't be with Pacey as their only means of conversation? One can only take so much caveman talk."

"Are you saying that I talk like a caveman?" Pacey asked.

"Wow, Pacey, you catch on fast," Joey said sarcastically.

"Is she always this wonderful after she wakes up?" Jack laughed.

"Only on her good days," Pacey responded.

Joey let out a chuckle and hit Pacey on the arm. "Watch it, Witter. I'm not the one with bed head which, may I add, you still haven't combed."

Pacey ran a hand in his ruffled hair. "Combs are overrated. Besides, the messy look is in."

"You keep telling yourself that," Joey said with a smile.

XXX

The three finally hit Capeside by 4:45. Joey ran a hand over her stomach and felt a small ache. She turned towards the two boys.

"I'm hungry," she said with a smile.

Pacey pulled to the nearest restaurant and parked. They went inside the warm burger place and looked around for some seats.

"I'll get the food. Jack, do you want a burger?" Joey asked.

"Sounds good," Jack said before pointing to a table and going to it.

"You want one?" she asked Pacey.

Pacey smiled and brought Joey into a kiss. "I'd rather have you…but a burger is fine."

Joey smirked. "Hey Pace?"

"Yeah?" he asked still looking at her lips.

"Can I have some money?"

Pacey rolled his eyes and let her go to get out his wallet. "I'm going to go broke because of you, Potter."

Joey kissed him on the forehead. "Thanks sweetie," she said before walking off.

XXX

Joey interlocked her fingers with Pacey's as they walked up to her house.

"I enjoyed this weekend," she said with a smile.

Pacey smiled back. "Me too."

They reached the porch and just stood in the snow, holding hands and looking at each other.

"Can I come over tonight?" Joey asked.

"Of course…So I guess it's completely back to the old ways, huh?"

Joey bit her lip. "I guess so…" she grew a small smirk, "…except for our new activity."

Pacey chuckled and smiled back. "We can't forget that new indoor one. Same time, same place?"

"Yup, see you tonight," Joey said leaning in and kissing him goodbye for the day.

Joey walked into the house with a huge smile on her face. Bessie looked to the door and smiled at her sister.

"Had fun this weekend?" Bessie asked.

Joey smiled wider. "It was unbelievable."

Bessie lost her smile. "Jo, something happened while you were away."

Joey put on a serious face. "What happened?"

"Dawson was in a car accident on Friday."

Joey put a hand to her mouth. "Is he okay?"

"Gail said he was a little banged up but was okay. She said you could go over there when you got back."

"Thanks Bess," Joey said before leaving.

"Hey Joey!" Bessie called.

Joey turned back. "Yeah?"

"There's something else you should know…"

XXX

Joey shook the snow from her shoes as she stepped onto the front porch of the Leery's house. Dawson was on the chair wrapped in a blanket.

"Hey," Joey said softly.

Dawson replied, "Hey."

"Bessie told me you got in an accident."

"I did."

There was a brief silence. "How do you feel?" Joey asked.

Dawson rolled his eyes. "I was in a car accident and broke my arm. How do you think I feel?"

Joey nodded and lowered her head. Dawson sighed. "I'm sorry…how was your weekend?"

"I had fun."

Dawson huffed. "I bet," he said.

Joey gave him a questioning look.

"Don't give me that look, Joey," Dawson said. "I'm not an idiot. I know something is going on between you and Pacey."

Joey took in a deep breath. "Dawson I…"

Dawson stood up and shook his head. "Don't try and redeem yourself, Joey. Why don't you just admit that you're having an affair with Pacey?"

Joey wiped away a tear and lifted up her head. "I'm having an affair with Pacey."

Dawson could feel the anger build up inside of him. He took a step back to make sure he wouldn't hit her. "How could you do something like that, Joey? I understand Pacey doing that but not you. Don't I mean anything to you?"

Joey shook her head and wiped away some more tears. She could feel some anger. "How could I have an affair? You were with Bethany on Friday and you've been having sex with her god knows how long!"

"Oh, like you're innocent! You probably screwed Pacey this weekend."

"I did!" Joey admitted. "I had sex with Pacey this weekend and I enjoyed every minute of it. You know what Dawson? The sex was so good we did it twice! Is that what you wanted me to say?"

Dawson felt his heart break in two. He really lost her. Dawson sat on the arm of the chair and turned his head down. "God Joey," he said as a tear escaped his eye.

Joey just stood there, watching as Dawson broke down.

Dawson sniffed back a few tears and looked up at her with watery eyes. "We can work through this. I love you too much to let you go, Joey."

Joey wiped away her own tears and tucked some hair behind her ears. "No," she said. "I don't want to work through this, Dawson. I want to end things with you."

Dawson stood up and grabbed her arms. "Please, Joey! We can forget about Pacey and Bethany…"

Joey moved out of his grip. "I won't be without Pacey, Dawson."

Dawson nodded his head and looked away. "Fine. No more movie nights, no more ladder, no more dating…no more friendship. I want nothing to do with you, Joey."

Joey couldn't stop the tears anymore. "If that's how it had to be," she said before walking away sobbing.

XXX

Bessie walked into Joey's room. "Hey Joey, how'd it go with…Jo, what's wrong?" she said noticing her tearful sister.

"I broke up with Dawson," Joey said putting some clothes in a bag.

"Oh no, what happened?" Bessie said from the doorway.

Joey wiped at some more tears, still packing and not facing Bessie. "I confronted Dawson about his affair with Bethany and he confronted me about mine with Pacey."

"You're having an affair with Pacey?"

"Since he got back from summer," Joey said closing up her bag and turning to leave. "I'm going to be by Pacey's tonight."

Bessie stood in Joey's way. "Wait…we need to talk. Is that were you have been going every night? By Pacey's house?"

Joey felt the hot tears running down her face. "I need Pacey so let me go…PLEASE," Joey pleaded.

Bessie nodded her head and let Joey leave.

XXX

"PACEY!" Joey called knocking on his door.

Pacey opened his door and Joey dropped her bags so she could hug him. Pacey wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her body shaking.

"What's wrong, Baby?" he asked stroking her hair.

Joey held tight to him. "I broke up with Dawson. He knows about us and this weekend. He never wants to see me again, Pacey," she cried.

Pacey rocked her slightly. "It's going to be okay, Joey. I promise. Come on, let's go to my room."

Joey held onto his hand and followed him to his room. "Bessie knows about us too, Pace. She knows that I come here every night."

Pacey closed the door behind them.

XXX

"How is she?" Gretchen asked from the table as Pacey came out of the room.

Pacey sat down and ran a hand in his hair. "She stopped crying and fell asleep."

Gretchen nodded. "Pace, I found some condoms in your room this weekend."

"What were you doing in my room?" Pacey asked defensively.

Gretchen ignored the comment. "I know that Joey has been sleeping over at night…"

"How do you know that?"

"I hear your voices when you let her in and I hear the alarm at three thirty every morning. I'm not judging you or anything, I just want to know if you two are sleeping together."

Pacey looked at his sister and placed his hand over his mouth. "Yesterday," he said softly.

Gretchen tucked in her lips and nodded. "Okay. Are you two careful? Please tell me you use protection because the last thing you two need is her getting pregnant."

"We used protection."

"That's all I needed to know."

Pacey sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go back in there," he said before going back into the bedroom.

Pacey got into the bed with Joey.

"Pacey?" Joey said lifting up her head.

Pacey moved on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her tear stained face.

"Shh," he whispered. "I'm here, Baby, I'm here."


	6. Those pesky three words

**_I don't own s--t and the story is a few weeks from where we left off. Sorry this is so short._**

Jen looked through the shelf of her locker for her textbook. She saw someone walked up to her and she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Dawson?" Jen said coldly.

Dawson leaned against a locker and stared sharply at the very flirtatious ex-friends across the hallway.

"I can't believe they're so open about their idiotic affair," he said crossing his arms.

Jen looked to Joey and Pacey and smiled. "I think they make a cute couple," she said.

Dawson rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I actually dated that slut."

Jen closed her locker and glared at Dawson. "You're an ass," she said before walking away.

Dawson hissed and glared back at them. "Yeah, an ass that's going to show them how much pain I'm in."

XXX

Joey stood facing her locker with her hands inside of it. She had been standing like this for a good two minutes now and the bell was about to ring. Pacey, who had his arms wrapped around her hips from behind, swayed her slightly as he continued to kiss her neck.

"Pacey," Joey said softly, grabbing hold of her book so she wouldn't melt.

"Hmm?" Pacey said and it vibrated on her neck, causing Joey to lose more control.

"We have two periods left and I would really like to go to them without feeling like…you know."

Pacey smiled and removed his lips from her neck. He let Joey go and stood next to her with a big grin. "You're right, Jo. Being horny in school is never a good idea."

Joey's jaw dropped and she looked at him. "I am not horny, Pacey."

Pacey shook his head. "Denial is never a good thing. I do believe I know a horny teenager when I see one."

"Yeah, you being one even before you were a teen."

"Exactly," Pacey said with a smile. "I'm an expert in the field. You're horny."

Joey noticed some people walk by and she turned red. "Shut up!" she spat just above a whisper.

Pacey chuckled and spoke softer. "Are you always going to have trouble talking about sexual things, Joey? I mean, we HAVE been doing it a few…extremely fun filled weeks now. Before that, we didn't make out with our hands tied behind our backs. So, in essence, you should be fine with talking about our physical activity by now."

Joey felt her whole face burning up. "We are not having this conversation," she said closing her eyes.

Pacey smirked at her red face. He had to admit, it was always fun watching her get red. Pacey grabbed her face and kissed her. She returned to her natural color.

"Okay," he said. "I'll stop. Are you coming over after school?"

Joey shrugged her shoulders and gave a crooked smile. "I don't know, Pace. You kind of ruined the mood."

Pacey kissed her again and started to walk away backwards. "I'll see you after school," he said before turning. He knew that the mood was never ruined between them.

Joey smiled and closed her locker. A blonde that Joey knew well, but not by choice, walked up to her.

"Hi Joey," Bethany said, her arm still in a sling and some bruises still noticeable.

"Hi," Joey retorted before walking away.

"Wait!" Bethany said as she stopped her. "I need to talk to you."

Joey turned around and crossed her arms. "Go ahead."

"Ever since the accident I started to think about my life. I could have died and I did so many wrong things. I thought the only good thing was Dawson. I really believed we were in love. After that asshole dumped me and said he used me for sex I realized that everything about Dawson and I was wrong. I wanted to make the wrongs right. I even started to go to church…"

"What are you getting at?" Joey said.

"I wanted to apologize for the pain I caused you. I was stupid and thought I was in love, I didn't even think about you. I'm sorry," Bethany said with a frown.

Joey shook her head. "I don't accept your apology. You KNEW I was with Dawson, You KNEW how much I cared for him and STILL you went along with the affair. What's worse, you started sleeping with him and kept it going for six months, Bethany. I feel bad for you that Dawson only used you for sex but what did you expect? He wouldn't even see you during the day or even touch you in front of people. Don't lie and say you never thought about me either, Bethany. I know that everyday you thought about me and felt guilty. How dare you come to me for penance? There is no way that I'm going to help you relief your guilty conscience."

Bethany nodded her head and walked away.

XXX

Pacey stood by the side of the bed and pulled back on his shirt, still trying to steady his breathing. "Did I ever tell you how amazing you are at that?" Pacey said grinning.

Joey closed her jeans and smiled back on the other side of the bed. "You're amazing too. I enjoyed myself."

Pacey nodded his head, still grinning. "I know you did; one after the other, without time to actually breath," he said finally steadying his breath.

Joey put her shirt around her shoulders and tried to button it up. "I'm sorry about that, Pacey," she said looking up to him. "I just needed to release some tension that built up."

Pacey walked over to Joey and started to button her shirt up for her. "I wasn't complaining. What got you so riled up, Jo?"

Joey sighed. "Bethany came up to me today. She felt bad and tried to apologize about the whole Dawson thing. I told her that I wouldn't accept her apology. It just got me so upset that she would ask for my forgiveness so she wouldn't feel guilty anymore."

Pacey noticed Joey's change in tone so he pulled her into a hug. "Don't let her get to you, Baby. Don't let any of them get to you."

Joey pulled back so she could see his face. "You always make me feel better."

Pacey smiled and kissed her. "Good," he said.

Joey looked into his greenish blues and bit her lip. "I like it when you call me Baby," she said running her hands along his chest.

"You do, huh?" he said with a big grin.

Joey smirked and still gazed into his eyes. "Very much," she said unbuttoning her shirt.

Pacey watched her before taking over the task himself. "I just buttoned this shirt, Potter."

Pacey pushed the shirt off her shoulders but Joey put it back on.

"We could leave the shirt on," Joey said running a finger along his shirt's hem line.

Pacey smirked and pulled his shirt off and threw it on the floor before taking Joey's off and tossing it too.

"We only do that when we're at your house. Here, the shirt comes off along with everything else," Pacey said before picking her up and placing her back on the bed.

Joey lifted her hand up and ran it along his face. "Pace, I think…" she stopped herself remembering what she told Bethany about her affair with Dawson.

Pacey stopped and looked down at her. "You think what?" he asked hoping she was going to say that she loved him.

Joey smiled and ended up rolling her eyes and saying, "I think you'll never change." Not exactly what she wanted to say.

Pacey frowned slightly. "I guess not," he said before kissing her.

In the back of his mind, Pacey knew that he was referring to his, metaphorically speaking, lack of balls. Here he was, about to have sex with this amazing woman for the fifth time today, and he couldn't say the right three words. Pacey had enough balls to start an affair with his best friend's girlfriend, get more attached to her than he already was, allowed himself to go "too far" with her on several occasions and have more sex with her in a month than most people have in six and yet he didn't have enough balls to tell Joey that he loved her. Pacey tried to blame it on bad timing, but is there ever a perfect time to tell someone you love them?

So, Pacey started to build up the courage to say those three words: I love you.


	7. High School Prom sucks

Note: I'm sorry guys. I'm going to try and make this a short as I can. I'm really really sorry. Please don't stop reading because this is way far from the end of the story. .. Since people like this fic I've decided to extend it past senior year. Also, sorry I didn't update sooner.

Pacey walked back and forth on Joey's front lawn. He had scuffed his shoes a few times and was giving the corsage in his hands a death grip, but all of this was unnoticed because larger things were on the young man's mind.

"Joey, I think I love you…no, that sucked," Pacey said talking to himself as he paced around. "Jo, I love ya…too casual, Damn it, why is it so hard? You have done this before, Pacey!"

"Talking to your self? You know Witter, I always wondered what you did when you were alone," Joey said walking down the two steps of her house.

Pacey look Joey up and down. She wore her lavender prom dress.

"Jo, you look stunning," Pacey said with a wide grin and opened up the box with the corsage.

Joey looked at the flower on her wrist and smiled at Pacey. "You look good yourself, Pace."

"Only because you picked out my suit."

"Well, I couldn't let you pick it out."

Pacey shook his head and continued to slowly look Joey over from head to toe.

Joey rolled her eyes. "You can stop undressing me in your mind now, Pacey…thanks."

Pacey smirked and brought Joey close. "You know, we could skip the first hour and I could undress you for real," Pacey said with a suggestive twitch of the eyebrow.

Joey shook her head and gave him a small kiss. "It took me forever to get everything right so I don't think I'm going to take the dress off quite yet."

"The dress can stay on if you want it to," Pacey added.

"I can't believe I'm going to prom with the biggest perv on this side of the universe. Jen and Jack are here," Joey said moving away.

"You're the one who wanted to go to prom," Pacey said to Joey who had walked a few feet away.

"You didn't have to go with me," Joey responded.

"And who do you suggest I go with? I'm seeing you currently and going with another girl to a big high school dance doesn't rank high on the list of good dating manners."

Joey smiled. "Any one you wanted to go with. I mean, we're only sleeping together," she said before walking over to greet Jen and Jack.

Pacey lifted an eyebrow at her comment.

_**XXX**_

The four walked into the horrible building known as Capeside High School and felt even more disgusted at the decorations in the gym.

"I always thought since Capeside had a lot of rich people, Prom would be more…I don't know, better looking," Pacey said looking at the tacky decorations.

"I know what you mean. I was hoping that Prom would be on a boat," Jack said.

"Well I'm glad it's not because I do get sea sick," Jen said feeling a bit queasy thinking about a rocky boat.

"This is Capeside, not Boston. Rich and cheap always go hand in hand," Joey said.

"Speaking of cheap, I'm going to go get some Hawaiian punch that they dumped in a bowl," Jack said.

"I guess I will too," Jen said walking away with him.

Pacey and Joey stood next to each other, not sure of what to do.

"Do you want to dance?" Pacey asked with a shrug.

Joey shrugged back. "I guess we should," she said taking his hand and going out onto the dance floor.

They held each other close and caressed when ever they had the chance. Pacey ran his fingers down her arm and smiled. This was the time.

"Joey, I've been waiting for the right moment to do this but I figured that there really never is a right moment. So, I'm going to just spill it…" Pacey looked up to her face and noticed Joey wasn't paying attention. She was scanning the crowd with her eyes. Pacey brought his mouth up to her ear. "Joey," he said softly into it.

Joey jumped slightly and looked at him. "Um, yeah?" she said biting her lip.

Pacey scrunched his face with concern. "Are you okay?"

Joey smiled. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno. You just seemed distracted."

Joey took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm just uncomfortable here. You know, all the people. Anyone could be here and we might not know it?"

"Are you worried about Dawson?"

Joey was taken back. "What? Why would you think I was worried about Dawson?"

Pacey shook his head. "Because you are worried about him. Like it or not, Jo, I know more about you than just your anatomy."

Joey rubbed her head. "Alright, I am worried about Dawson. It's going to be so awkward seeing him tonight."

"Dawson is probably not here."

"I hope not."

The song ended and they separated. Pacey went to the bathroom while Joey went to get something to drink.

Joey scanned over the glasses until she found one that seemed somewhat good. She tilted the glass and closed her eyes as the liquid went down her throat.

"Hey Joey."

Joey opened her eyes and held the glass in her hand. She slowly looked to the person. "Hey Dawson."

Dawson smiled wide and looked Joey over. "You look great."

Joey felt uncomfortable under his gaze so she put down her glass. "Thanks. I'm going to get going," she said turning around.

"Wait," Dawson said putting his arm on her shoulder. "I just wanted to say I was sorry about the way that I acted. I didn't mean all of those things I said when we broke up. I still want to be your friend."

Joey felt her skin crawl under his touch. It's funny how a touch can feel so different with other people. Dawson's touches had always been rough, like he was petting Joey. At times, he had tried to rub her softly but he never succeeded. Dawson was an over thinker. He made sure that every time he ran a hand over her it had some softness yet kept his masculinity in tact. Pacey was so different. He never ran his palms over Joey, unless it was to keep her arms warm. Pacey had always been delicate with Joey. Whenever he caressed her skin, Pacey only used his finger tips to dance over her smooth skin. This gave Joey goose bumps every time. He had always been so soft…so loving.

Joey moved away from his touch. "It's too late for that," She said not facing Dawson and walking away.

_**XXX**_

Joey walked out of the big doors to Capeside High and smiled. "There you are," she said approaching Pacey.

Pacey leaned his body against a pillar and looked away from the school and Joey. "Here I am," he said slowly.

Joey walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "I was looking all over for you," she said lying her head down on his shoulder.

"I bet," Pacey said still looking away.

Joey let him go and moved next to him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Were you looking for me before or after you were with Dawson?"

"We were just talking, Pacey."

Pacey turned to Joey and frowned. "Why would you even talk to him, Joey? Do you still love him?"

Joey shook her head. "No, I don't love him. I came to you, didn't I?"

"Just like always!" Pacey said a louder. "Every time that Dawson hurts you, you come running to me."

"Well sorry for thinking you were here for me!"

"Jo, I am here for you and you know that. I'm not mad that you come to me, I'm mad that you keep putting yourself in a position to keep COMING back to me. It's like you're not happy with just me."

"Of course I'm happy with you, Pacey. I wouldn't be with you if I wasn't happy."

"Then why do I always find you with Dawson?"

Joey turned around and walked a few feet. "We're not having this argument."

"Why? Because it's true?" Pacey yelled moving closer.

Joey turned back towards him. "Because it's stupid!" she yelled back.

"So now I'm stupid?"

"No! I meant this argument is stupid. You just want to fight with me because you were jealous that I was talking with Dawson!"

Pacey crossed his arms and looked back out to the street. "Then maybe we should stop arguing."

Joey looked at Pacey and he didn't look back. He kept staring away from her. Joey rubbed her temples.

"So now you're not talking to me?"

Pacey didn't answer.

Joey yelled and pushed him to look at her. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, PACEY? I have tried so hard to please you. I had an affair with you and I slept with you. I broke up with Dawson so I could be with you and only you. What can I do to make you understand me?"

Pacey looked at her with sad eyes. "I want to be more to you than just the person you sleep with. Maybe we jumped into this relationship to fast or maybe we're too young but Joey, I don't think that we're truly together. You're not ready yet…and who knows, it could be better later on."

Joey licked her lips and rolled up her eyes to stop the tears that formed from falling. "So you want to breakup. Is this what you really want?"

Pacey watched as a tear escaped her eye. "I want to stay with you," he said.

Joey shook her head and wiped away the tears. "Its fine, you don't have to try and make me feel better. You're right, Pacey, maybe some time apart will be a good thing. I just wish it didn't hurt so much."

Joey crossed her arms around her body and started her walk home. She didn't even try to stop the tears, so they slide down her face and onto the top of her dress. Pacey watched as Joey walked away, her body trembling every so often. Pacey wanted to run up to Joey and scoop her up in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't hold her tight against his body and feel the warmth from her skin because he told her that wasn't enough. He couldn't tell her that everything would be okay because he, himself wasn't sure if it would be.

All he could do was watch her walk away.


	8. A Worthington bash

AN: hey, superfan24, I updated by Saturday, as promised. elwoodluver00034, sorry that the not telling each other they love each other thing is annoying but I have to keep it for a while. xxoJenxoo and PaceyJoeytruelove, This chapter should make you two happy. For all of the other people I didn't mention, I would have, I just didn't get your review before I started writing this chapter. I'm glad you're enjoying it too. It makes me SO happy! I've decided to add a nice chapter to make you smile again…it may not be all smiles after this chapter. But I'm not revealing anything! On to the story…

Joey leaned her head against her hand. She had been leaning over her desk for some time; she wasn't quite sure how long.

"Earth to Joey!" Jen said waving a hand in front of her friend's face.

Joey jumped up and looked at the blonde. "What? Say that again?"

Jen rolled her eyes. "Nice of you to actually listen. I asked you if you've seen Pacey today."

"No, why?"

"I don't think he came to school today. Do you know what might have happened with him?"

Joey shook her head. "I haven't talked to him lately."

"When uh, when was the last time you talked to him anyway?"

Joey looked down. "Prom," she said quietly.

Jen shook her head. "Joey, it's been two weeks. We're graduating on Saturday. Don't you think you should talk to him before you go away to Worthington?"

Joey lifted up her shoulders. "I guess I should. It's just going to be so awkward."

Jen patted her shoulder. "No one said it would be easy."

_**XXX**_

Joey walked down the street with some school books in her arms. A large, balding white man spots her and smiles.

"Josephine Potter?" the man said with a smile.

Joey stopped walking and smiled back before shaking his hand. "Mr. Samson. How are you?"

"I'm as good as you can be being the dean at Worthington," he said with a laugh. "I haven't seen you since September. You are coming to the new student dinner tonight at the yacht club, right?"

Joey nodded. "Um, yeah; I'll be there."

A girl called for Mr. Samson. He told her he'd be right there before turning back to Joey.

"Bring that boyfriend of yours tonight. I have something to discuss with him," he said.

Joey bit her lip. "Um, actually…"

"I'm sorry but I have to go. Hope to see you two tonight," Mr. Samson said before walking away.

Joey sighed before continuing her walk down the street.

_**XXX**_

There was a small knock on the door. It was so small it was almost inaudible. Pacey opened the door to find someone he didn't expect to see again…at least for a while.

"Jo?" Pacey said with a raised eyebrow.

Joey had her hand in the position to knock again when she quickly brought it down and blushed. "H hey Pacey," Joey said barely above a whisper.

Pacey looked at her for a second before shaking his head and smiling. "Uh, hey…what are you doing here?"

"I'm here because…because…" she looked at the books in her hands and back to him. "Because I brought some homework from today. You weren't in school and I didn't think you would want to fall behind so I came over to drop off some books. You know, finals start tomorrow and all…"

"You're rambling," Pacey cut in.

Joey looked down and blushed. "Sorry," she said softly.

Pacey smirked at this. She was nervous. Joey always rambled when she was nervous.

"Thanks for the books. Is that it?" he said taking them and putting them down.

Joey nodded. They stood there in the doorway for a few awkward seconds.

"So…" Pacey began. "Do you want to come in?" He hoped that she would want to. Even thought they were "broken up," Pacey still couldn't get enough of her.

Joey locked her eyes with his but looked away. "I need to get going," she said before turning and walking away.

"Bye," Pacey called from his place on the doorframe.

Joey walked a few steps before stopping and walking back. "Pacey, there is something else."

"What is it?" he asked.

Joey took a deep breath. "Do you remember the Worthington Party that we went to at the beginning of the year? Well the dean, Mr. Samson, is having another one tonight for new students. I've been invited to go ad I am going tonight. I was going to invite you but then at prom…So I was on my way to drop off the books then guess who I see? Mr. Samson of all people. We talked and he was hoping that I would come and everything…so we kept talking and he asked if you were coming and I tried to tell him that we weren't together anymore but a girl distracted him so I couldn't get it out…" Joey paused to breathe.

"What are you trying to say in these long rambled run on sentences, Jo?" Pacey said while he had the chance.

Joey nodded. "He wants you to come tonight…with me."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Joey looked at the dirt she kicked with her feet. "Yeah…I'd feel better. I mean, I don't have much in common with a bunch of Richey riches…I would like you to be there."

"Look at me," Pacey said. She looked up and Pacey smiled. "If you need me, I'll go. I'm here for you, alright?"

Joey smiled wide. "Thank you. Well, I guess I'll see you in an hour. I need to get going so I can get ready."

Pacey waved as she left.

_**XXX**_

"Are you ready yet?" Pacey asked looking at Joey who was sitting next to him in the car.

Joey stared out the window of the unmoving car. "In a little bit," she said almost pressed up against the glass.

Pacey rolled his eyes. "Jo, we've been sitting here for ten minutes. Don't you think we should go in?"

Joey bit her lip and turned to him. "What if they don't like me? I have to go to college with people like them."

"They're going to like you, Joey. Since when have you cared what rich people thought anyway?"

"I don't know. I guess since I actually got the full scholarship to go to Worthington. What if this party is just like the last one?"

"You'll never know until you go in. Besides if anything goes wrong, you have me as an escape route," Pacey said with a chuckle.

Joey took a deep breath and opened the car door. "You're right. I just need to mingle for a little bit and then I'm out of there."

Pacey walked around the car moved Joey along to the yacht club. "So let's get inside."

Inside, there were tons of people all huddled in small clumps around the bottom floor. Students laughed and talked for hours. It took Joey maybe thirty minutes to start up a conversation with another future Worthingtoner. Soon after the conversation started, more had joined in. Pacey excused himself, seeing as he didn't quite fit there, and walked around for a while. Once he found a nice corner, Pacey watched as Joey fit in perfectly. She had become the main focus and didn't need him to hold her up anymore.

"Pacey Witter, just the man I was looking for," Mr. Samson said walking up to him.

"Hello Mr. Samson," Pacey said shaking the man's hand.

"Please, call me Marty."

"This is a nice Party…Marty," Pacey said with a small smirk at the unintentional rhyme.

"I try…enough with the small talk. I have a proposition for you. How would you like to sail all summer on a premium yacht with no expenses to you?"

"I would say where do I sign up?" Pacey said with a smile.

Marty grinned wide. "That's what I wanted to hear! See, I have a yacht that I used to use before. She's in fine condition but could always use some fine tunings. I heard and saw the work you did with your own boat, the true love, and I was amazed. My baby hasn't seen water in a while and a nice three month cruise would do her some good. I want you to lead my crew and sail her around this summer. You could even bring someone. All you have to do is fix her up. I'll pay you of course. So, what do you say?" he said extending his hand.

Pacey couldn't stop grinning. He shook his hand. "Doing things I love on a premium yacht and getting paid for it? That's a dream come true. I definitely want to do this."

"Good. I'll call you later and we'll talk about all of the details. So you know, you leave Saturday night. I think there's someone here to see you," he said looking at Joey and leaving.

Pacey smiled wide and walked to her. "That man is a god."

"I know how you feel," she said with a returning smile.

"You okay?" Pacey asked noticing something in her smile.

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I was just worried when I didn't see you. Pacey, I want to leave."

"You sure? You seemed to be getting along with them."

"Yeah. You didn't seem to be enjoying yourself and I got tired of talking."

"Okay, let's go," Pacey said leading the way to the door.

They got in the car and drove off. Most of the ride back to her house was silent. Once they reached her house, Pacey parked and turned off the car.

"We're here," he said looking at the steering wheel.

Joey took in a short breath and looked at him. "Will you spend the night with me?"

Pacey looked at her and locked eyes. "Joey…"

"Please Pacey? I just want you to sleep next to me for one more night…I really need it."

Pacey could see her eyes pleading with him. He wanted to hold her just one more time so why throw this opportunity away? He got out of the car and walked with Joey inside her house for the night.

_**XXX**_

Pacey had walked out the bathroom and into the bedroom with, as always, just his boxers on. Joey had already changed and was in bed. He said goodnight before getting in next to her. How strange it was to be so close to Joey and yet so far away. Pacey was so use to getting into bed with her and holding her close, caressing her skin…making love to her.

Now he couldn't do any of those things.

Joey, who still lied facing away from Pacey, had her eyes wide open. She wanted to be with him, but it wasn't as how she wanted it to be.

"Pace?" Joey said softly.

"Hmm?" he said seeing nothing in the darkness.

"Will you hold me?" she asked turning toward him.

Pacey moved more toward the middle of the bed. "Come here," he said moving out his arms.

Joey slid to the middle of the bed and went into his embrace. Their eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness to make out figures. She moved her body so she was as close to his as possible. Joey felt safe in his arms that were around her and did the only thing natural to her…she kissed him.

Pacey pulled back but didn't let her go. "Jo, we can't. I want to so bad but it won't work. You don't need me anymore."

Joey shook her head. "Yes, I do."

Pacey ran a hand down her face. "No you don't, Jo. You wowed everyone at that party tonight and were fine without me. You belong with those people and not with me."

"You don't want me anymore?" Joey said feeling tears threatening to fall.

"I want you more than anything. You deserve to be with a guy who is going to get an education and who is going to give you any thing you want; not a barely high school graduate who's only good at doing things with his hands. I don't deserve you."

"Those guys can't give me everything I want because they're not you. The only thing that matters is you. It's always only been you. When I lost you I didn't know what to do because I lost the only thing that truly mattered to me. If anyone doesn't deserve someone it's me who doesn't deserve you. I love you, Pacey and I have for a long time now. I know I should have told you earlier and I'm sorry I didn't. I'm telling you now because I want you to realize how much you mean to me. I've have never loved someone as much as I love you."

Pacey couldn't believe his ears. Joey Potter loves him…not Dawson, not anyone else…**_him. _**

"I love you too, Joey. I was waiting for the right time to tell you that but then we ended things at Prom and I never got a chance. I didn't think you loved me back. You have no idea how happy you've made me. I don't want someone else to be in love with you because I want to love and be loved by you. Now that I know that you love me I don't want to give you up so easily."

"I wasn't going to let you give up so easily," Joey said moving her arms around his neck and laying flat against him on the bed.

"I want you so badly," he said moving more on top of her then next to her.

"I'm yours to have," she said before kissing him.

_**XXX**_

Pacey leaned on an elbow and faced Joey. He had been awake and watched her sleep as the morning sun kissed her bare back. He smiled and moved his fingertips in slow circles on her back.

"I love you," he said moving his fingers on her.

Joey moved slightly and turned her head towards him. "I love you too," she said smiling at him.

Pacey moved in and kissed her passionately. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Joey said moving into his arms and lying on his chest.

"How did you sleep?" he asked rubbing her arm.

Joey wrapped her arm around him. "Best night I ever had."

They stayed like that for a while, not wanting to let the moment go.

"Jo?" Pacey said breaking the wonderful silence.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to go away with me this summer. I'm sailing Mr. Samson's boat all summer and he said I could bring someone."

Joey looked up to him. "When?" she asked with a smile.

"Saturday; after graduation. I want you to be with me. I can't be three months without you."

Joey smirked. "I'm in."

Pacey grinned wide. "You are?"

Joey grinned back wide. "Yeah. I get to be away from Capeside with the man I love for three months, on a beautiful boat may I add. I really don't see a downside to this."

Pacey moved down to her and kissed her. "You are the most amazing person I know. I love you so much," he said before kissing her again and wrapping her in his arms.


	9. Revenge isn't always sweet

**I'm so glad that I made so many people happy with the last chapter. That makes me happy. :) I've decided to update faster than I was going to because of all the reviews. This chapter isn't that long, I suppose, but it may be better that way because of the tone. I had the rest of the story planned out in my head and I totally screwed that up with the last chapter because I made them say they loved each other…anyway, I'm still going with what I originally planned because someone (not going to mention who or what it is) kind of figured out what this chapter was going to be about. Remember, Dawson's Creek is all about the angst so…yeah. I also want to say how cool it is that people are reading and reviewing my earlier (and crappier) stories. Thanks guys for reviewing! As always ON TO THE STORY…**

Joey fiddled with the dark blue cap in her hands. There was a soft breeze that June Saturday morning. She was nervous. So much was going to happen on that Saturday, some things she expect; others Joey Potter did not.

"Is it normal to feel like there's a roller coaster in your stomach?" Joey said to Jen while rubbing her stomach.

Jen smirked at her friend. "It's just nerves. There's nothing to be scared of."

"The only thing that I'm scared of is puking at the podium when I make my speech," Joey said feeling her stomach do another flip.

"Just think, in two hours we'll be out of high school and on our way to college."

"College will be great for you because at least you have Jack going with you to Boston University. I, on the other hand, will know no one at Worthington."

Jen rolled her eyes. "College is going to be great for you. You're going to one of the best colleges in the country and there are going to be so many people. If you need us, Jack and I are just around the corner…literally."

"Yeah…I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right. Grams wants to see me so I'll be right back," Jen said before walking over to Grams.

Joey fiddled with the hat in her hands again. **_"Everything is going to be great,"_** Joey said to herself.

"Now who's the one talkin' to themselves Potter?" Pacey said walking to her.

"I think you're starting to rub off on me, Pace. It's only a matter of time before I start walking around with messy hair and only a pair of boxers on," she said with a smile.

"That's not crazy, that's just sexy," he said before kissing her.

They both knew it was time to find their seats but neither wanted to break the kiss. What started out as a small kiss fastly escalated into a not so subtle I-want-to-jump-your-bones kiss. It wasn't until they announced for the graduates to take their seats, did they pull apart.

"Wow," Joey said at a lost for words.

Pacey only nodded. He wiped a finger across his lips. "Don't want to graduate with lip gloss on," he said wiping at the gloss on his lips.

Joey smirked. "I was hoping to but it seems as though you took all of mine," she said feeling her glossless lips.

Pacey shook his head at the second announcement. "We should get to our seats. I'll see you at five…at the dock."

"See you at five at the dock."

Pacey grinned and started to walk away.

"Hey Pace!" Joey called after him.

"Yeah Potter?" he called back as he started to walk backwards.

"I love you," she called with a smile.

"Not as much as I love you," he said louder with a big grin and a wave.

Joey felt herself blushing as she watched him walk away. It was time for her to get to her own seat as well. Joey walked up to her row, found her seat and sat down. Lucky for her, her seat was in front of Jen's seat in the row behind hers.

"I thought you were coming back," Joey said turning around to face the blonde.

Jen lifted her shoulders. "You looked a little pre occupied."

Joey blushed. "So you saw…"

"You and Pacey about to do it in the back of our school? No, I totally missed it," she said with a laugh.

"No we weren't! Pacey and I like to keep that activity indoors."

Jen's mouth dropped. "Oh my, is little Joey Potter actually talking about her sex life? I need to write this day down."

Joey rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."

"I noticed you said you keep sex inside, not in the bedroom. So is it safe for me to assume that you two have had sexual encounters in various places of the house?"

Joey's mouth fell a little. "I'm not telling you."

"It's very healthy to share personal details with your close friends. I'm not asking how, just where."

"Well…you tell me and I'll tell you."

"Fine. As you know, I was a very wild girl back in New York. The question really isn't where I've had sex it's more like where haven't I? Let me tell you, sinks can really hurt you."

Joey shook her head. "Okay, way too much information."

"Now it's your turn."

"What?"

"I tell you, you tell me. That's the deal remember?"

"I…I don't want to have this conversation."

"Joey, a deal is a deal…now spill."

"…Yeah, we've had sex outside of the bedroom."

"As in?"

"Uh, as in…the bathroom and…"

"The kitchen right? A lot of people like the kitchen."

"Um, yeah," Joey felt herself getting warm.

"The table, counter or floor? I personally dig the table, more room."

Joey felt a smile and a blush move to her face as she recalled her last time in that particular room. "We like the counter."

"Now that wasn't so bad," Jen said with a nice smile.

Joey rubbed her face. "I can't believe I just told you where Pacey and I like to have sex."

"Sharing is a good thing, Joey…just remember that," Jen said before the ceremony began.

The graduation ceremony took longer than anticipated. All of the staff had made their speeches and so did the graduates. Joey's speech went wonderful, as predicted. The names were called and the hats were thrown. All and all, the graduation was a success. Jen, Jack and Pacey had all already left but Joey was still waiting by the side of the road for Bessie and Bodie to find the car.

"Hey," Dawson said approaching Joey.

Joey moved some hair that kept blowing in the wind. "Hi Dawson."

They stood there, not saying a word for a few seconds.

Dawson shifted on his feet. "So…we're high school graduates now. How does it feel?"

"Eh, not much of a difference."

"…I liked your speech. It was very…nice," he said at a loss for words.

"Thanks," was all she said.

"Um…I heard about your big plans for the summer," he said getting a little angry.

Joey could tell he was getting fired but frankly she didn't care. "Yeah, Pacey and I are going away for the whole summer together. It's going to be so romantic."

Dawson felt his white pale skin getting red. "That's great. I'm going to go but I wanted to give you this," he said forcefully giving her a box. "I got it for you a while back. See ya," he said before storming off.

Joey didn't even care about the contents of the box. As soon as she got in the car she almost completely forgot about it.

Dawson kept stomping away. He was fumed. "What a bitch," he said as he rushed off.

**XXX**

Joey put the last few items into her bag. She was all packed and ready to go away for the summer. Once she had placed her bag by the door she sat down on her bed. Joey scanned her room, wanting to remember it when she was gone. As her eyes made it to her dresser, the shiny box that Dawson gave her stood out.

She picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful gold necklace with a lavender pendant on it. Joey smirked but quickly put the necklace back in the box and closed it. She couldn't accept this. It was too much and too late. Joey got up and went to the door to put her shoes on.

"Where are you going?" Bessie asked her sister.

Joey opened the door. "I'm going to Dawson's house. I'll be back soon," she said before leaving.

**XXX**

Pacey sat on the edge of his boat. Every two seconds he would stare at his watch, waiting for 3:30 to turn into 5:00. The time had never been slower. Pacey heard footsteps on the dock and quickly looked up. He rolled his eyes at who he saw.

"What do you want?" Pacey said as his ex- best friend approached.

Dawson walked down the dock with his hands in his pockets and an evil smirk on his face. "Nothing," he answered. "I just…you waiting for someone?"

"You know damn well I'm waiting for Joey," Pacey said controlling his sudden anger.

Dawson kept his smirk. "Hmm…Why?"

Pacey shook his head. "What do you mean why? We're going away for the summer. Are you really that dumb?"

Dawson laughed. "That's funny; I was going to ask you the same thing. So you really believe that she's going to go away with you? Wow, that's…moronic. C'mon, Pacey, this is Joey we're talking about. She has more sense then to be with **YOU **for another three months."

Pacey felt the heat rising within him. "What the hell do you know, Dawson? I bet you didn't know that Joey loves me. Yup, she's probably packing right now."

"Hmm, I guess she loves you so much that she came running back to me this morning. Oh, I bet you didn't know that," Dawson said mocking him. "She's by my house right now. We just finished…making up."

Pacey took out his cell phone and started dialing. "Yeah, we'll see."

Dawson lost his grin. Pacey was about to pull his bluff. "Pacey…"

Pacey put up a finger. "It's ringing."

"_Hello?" Bessie answered._

"_Hey, Bess, It's Pacey."_

"_Hey, Pacey. How are you?"_

"_I'm good. Hey, is Joey there?"_

"_No, she went over to Dawson's a while ago."_

"…_Oh…"_

"_Do you want me to tell her you called?"_

"_Um…no, that's okay. Talk to you later, bye."_

"_Bye."_

Pacey closed his phone and got fully on his boat. He started undoing the ropes.

"What did she say?" Dawson asked.

Pacey didn't look at him. "Bessie said Joey was at your house."

Dawson was shocked. His plan was working out better than he hoped. "Um, yeah…told you she was."

Pacey undid the last rope that tied him to the dock. "You know what, Dawson? You can have her. Go…fuck up her life some more. She wants you anyways. I…I'm not going to try anymore."

Dawson smirked. "Yeah, I'll make sure to **fuck** up her life."

Pacey started his engine. "And while you're doing that, just remember that everything she does, she did to me only better because I got her before you did."

With that, Pacey was off.

**XXX**

Joey sat on the dock. 5:10 and Pacey was no where to be found.

"Long time no see," Dawson said approaching her.

"Oh, hi," she said a little uncomfortably. Joey handed him the box. "I wanted to give this back. It's beautiful; Dawson but I can't accept it. I…I don't want you. I know I may sound mean but I have to say it. You had your chance and now its over. I love Pacey and I want to be with him."

Dawson squeezed the box. "You sure?"

Joey smirked slightly. "Yeah…I'm sure."

Dawson smirked. "I uh, I don't know how to tell you this but Pacey left, Joey. He left about an hour and a half ago. I thought he told you."

Joey's mouth fell. "Are you serious? That's an asshole comment, Dawson."

"It's true, Joey! You don't see his piece of shit boat, do you? That's because he left!" Dawson yelled.

Joey frantically looked around. Dawson was right. He was gone. Joey felt the tears run down her face already. "Oh my god, he is gone. Did he say anything? Did he say if he was coming back? **WHAT DID HE SAY, DAWSON?**"

Dawson smirked wider. "He pretty much said he didn't want you anymore. What did you expect from, Pacey? He's not very reliable."

Joey scrunched her body close and let the hot tears run down her face and onto her hands. "Why would he do this? He told me he loved me. I thought we were okay. I thought we were fine. Why does everyone leave me? What is wrong with me? Why did he lie? He said he loved me…he said he loved me…he said he loved me," Joey said to herself rocking back and forth.

Dawson stared at her in awe. Joey was never this upset over anything before. For once, Dawson felt bad about what he had done to her. He had no right to interfere so much. "Joey I…" Dawson said touching her arm.

Joey pulled away. "Go away! I hate you! This is all your fault, Dawson! I hate you so much! I never want to see you again!"

Dawson backed up. He didn't know what to do. Was there really anything he could do? He didn't think so because there was nothing he could do. He caused the pain but he couldn't take it back. He watched her cry a bit before going home.

Joey sat on the dock and sobbed. Everyday during the summer, she would walk past the dock and sigh. Secretly, she still waited for her ride that would never come.

…That's when the hatred started.

**_OoOo! Did you like it? I hope so….please review! I'll update as soon as I can but it may not be for a while, sorry. I wanted to leave a nice…cliffhanger. _**


	10. so much for a fresh start

**Disclaimer: I don't own crap.**

**Sorry it took me so long to update. I have been so busy with school that I haven't had anytime to even think about writing. So, I'm sitting here and doing the writing and thinking all at the same time. This chapter is not going to be very long because it's mostly just a set up chapter and the reader needs to know…Thanks for all of the reviews! I love reviews so much. I hope you review this chapter (hint hint). So, the story: I'm sorry that I confused some people with the hatred thing at the end of the last chapter. I thought you would get it. Yes, the hatred that Joey feels is for Pacey, I mean, wouldn't you if he just left without even a note? Don't be sad though, if you've read my stories you know how it's all going to end. As for evil Dawson, I'm letting him go. The only time that Dawson will be seen is when they mention him but other than that he is out of the story…unless I change my plans again. High school, and that summer, is over. College has started and some new character(s) will be added. Audrey is going to be present but I don't like her AT ALL so she's not going to be Joey's roommate or friend, just another problem…she won't be like evil Dawson, I promise. Just a bit stuck up. I'm going to stop rambling now and start the story…**

Joey flipped another page in her environment book. School just started five weeks ago and already she was confined to her dorm room. Joey didn't mind staying her dorm most hours of the week. She lived on a quiet lifestyle floor and had a single so that meant no roommate, just as a full scholarship to Worthington offered. Joey turned another page in the "amazing" 80 page story about why the cricket is such an amazing animal when the alarm next to her went off.

"Sorry," Joey said as she reached over and turned it off.

Jen, who had spent the night because she was too drunk to make it to her place, growled as she moved her head from under the covers and sat up. "Why is that alarm so loud?" she asked touching her messy blonde hair.

Joey smiled and rolled her eyes as she went to her closet to get ready. "Jen, the alarm is so low that I need to keep in next to me to hear it."

Jen shook her head and looked at her friend with one eye. "Where are you going so early?"

"It's eleven already."

"Same difference. Where are you going?"

Joey straightened out her white short and turned to her friend. "I start work today at civilization, remember? I get to play waitress again."

"Do you ever have any fun? Either you're studying or working. Next time, you're coming out with Jack and me."

Joey opened the door to her dorm. "Like I really want to get so drunk that I still have a hang over at eleven. The only time I drink is when I need a copasetic. Go back to sleep in my bed, Jen. I'll be back around four," she said before leaving.

**XXX**

Joey walked into the restaurant and approached a blonde girl behind the podium.

"Welcome to Civilization, Will you be dining alone today?" the blonde said with a fake cheery tone.

Joey shook her head. "Actually, I'm the new waitress. I'm not…"

"Follow me," the blonde said walking away. Joey walked next to her. "I'm Audrey Liddell. I'm in charge of all the waiting staff. And your name is?"

"Joey Potter."

They stopped in front of a wall of shelves. "Welcome aboard, Joey. Your pad, tray, name tag and waist apron all go into the cubby hole with your name on it. Grab your stuff and start working on the first eight even tables," Audrey said before walking away.

Joey picked up her things and headed to table # 2.

**XXX**

It was 2:30 and Joey had just sat down for her 15 minute break. She ran her hands through her hair.

"Bad first day?" A guy with jet black hair and light green eyes said as he placed his tray down next to her.

Joey looked at the guy and sighed. "Not bad, just hard. When I was a waitress before I was never so busy."

He smirked slightly and rubbed his olive skin. "You'll get into the groove of things in a week."

Joey smiled. "That's good. Um, what's your name?"

"Oh, my name is Frank Tyson."

"I'm Joey Potter."

"Nice name. So, do you go to school?"

"Yeah. I'm a freshman at Worthington. What about you?"

"I'm a sophomore at Bradley. So you're a Worthington Richey like Audrey?"

Joey shook her head and chuckled. "Not at all. I'm only at Worthington because they gave me a full ride."

"Good because we don't need another Audrey around here."

"Is she that bad?"

"She can be nice and all but she just has this aura about her that she's stuck up and a little…loose if you know what I mean. I don't get how her boyfriend puts up with her."

"Must be crazy," Joey said before they started laughing.

Audrey walked up to the two and frowned. "Frank, get back to work. Your break ended two minutes ago."

Frank said goodbye to Joey before saluting to Audrey and walking off. Audrey sat down next to Joey. "He's so stupid. So, how has your first day been?"

Joey lifted her shoulders. "It's been okay. The meals have been moving really slow."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "I know, right? We have a substitute still. One of the cooks took a few days off. He'll be back today by three. He's gorgeous."

"Yeah?" Joey said not really interested.

"Uh huh. He has medium brown hair and a pair of gorgeous blue eyes. Easily the sexiest man alive."

Joey caught her breath. The description was too familiar. It couldn't be…could it?

"What's his n…"

"Pacey!" Audrey yelped as he walked through the door. She ran to him and leaped. He fell back a little and hugged her.

"Hey Audrey," he said before giving her a small kiss.

Audrey smiled big and grabbed his hand. "We have a new waitress that you should meet," she said before dragging him to Joey.

Joey and Pacey caught their breath. This was definitely not a place that either of them thought they would see each other. It was over three months and yet they still hated each other.

"Hey," Pacey managed to say.

"Um, hi," Joey said looking away.

"You two get to know each other and I'll be back later," Audrey said before walking off.

Pacey nodded and looked back to Joey. "Joey…"

"How long have you been here?" Joey asked harshly looking back at him.

"Two months. The trip ended early."

Joey bit her lip. "Yeah and how was that trip, Pacey?"

Pacey shook his head. "I don't want to fight with you."

"How long have you been dating Audrey?" Joey asked with a glare.

"Joey…" Pacey said feeling the heat rise up in him as well.

"O c'mon, Pace. I'm a big girl, I can handle it."

"Three weeks, Okay?" Pacey said with a sneer.

Joey rolled her eyes. "Didn't take you long to move on."

Pacey sarcastically chuckled. "I guess not. Oh yeah, How is Dawson?"

Joey stood up. "I wouldn't know," she said before walking away.

Pacey lifted up his arm. "Joey, wait."

She turned around. "I really don't want to have an inept tête-à-tête right now. I need to go back to work so save the diatribe for someone who cares."

**XXX**

Joey opened the door to the covered porch. It was pouring outside so she leaned against the railing and listened as the fast rain poured onto the ground.

"Afraid of a little water?" Frank asked from his seat.

Joey smiled to him. "Not at all. I love the rain. I just don't want to get wet right now."

Frank moved over to her. "How was your first day at civilization?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "My day was horrible. I thought that working here would give me some time to breathe but I think it's only going to choke me even more."

"I hope you're not going to quit," Frank said a little worried. He didn't want Joey to quit, he just met her. There was definitely something special about this girl.

"No, I can't quit. I need to the money. I guess I just have to tough it out for a while. At least there's one person at this hellhole who's not on my bad side yet."

Frank leaned in. "Well I would say that's one lucky person."

Joey smiled. Franks was nice, cute and funny. She wasn't ready to be with anyone yet. It was too soon…for her at least. "I should get going."

Frank looked out into the rain. "You're going to get soaked and you have a white shirt. Wait, what am I saying? You should **definitely **go in the rain."

Joey smirked and rolled her eyes. "Oh great, another Pacey."

"Huh?"

Joey shook her head. "Nothing. So, can you give me a lift?"

Frank smiled wide. "Of course."

**XXX**

Joey walked into Jen and Jack's apartment drenched from the short walk from Frank's car to the apartment. "Hey guys," she said walking in.

The two stopped what they were doing and smiled at Joey. "Hey," they said together.

"So how was your first day?" Jen asked grabbing Joey a towel and sitting down by her at the table with Jack.

"Horrible," Joey said wiping herself off. "You'll never guess who works there…Pacey. Apparently his stupid trip ended early and that was the only job he could find. He even has a new rich bitch girlfriend named Audrey. I can't believe this is happening to me."

"Oh," Jack said looking down.

Joey looked between her two friends and lifted an eyebrow. "That's it? I just tell you that Pacey, the guy who broke my heart without even a care, is working at my work and has a new girlfriend and that's all I…wait. You two knew didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?"

Jen shook her head. "We wanted to Joey, but we didn't know how. He just showed up here a few weeks ago. I'm sorry."

Joey shook her head furiously. "Did you see him after that?"

Jen nodded. "A few times."

Joey turned to Jack. "Did you know about Audrey? Well did you!"

"No," Jack said. "I swear he never told us about her. Don't be mad, Joey. We could just slam the door in his face. He's our friend too."

Joey stood up. "I can't believe you two. You're just as bad as him!" she said storming out.

"It's pouring outside!" Jack said before the door slammed.

Jack was about to get up and follow her when Jen stopped him.

"Jack, let her go. It's no use going after her."

_**Review please! Any questions I'll answer top of next chapter.**_


	11. just a small party

**Okay, first I want to say thank you the reviews…I love them! I know I said that I would answer any questions but the questions you asked I can't answer without giving up the story! I will tell you this…everything that you asked about WILL happen, just can't say how/when, probably not for a while. So, I've changed my plans again. Before you freak out no, Dawson is not coming back. I've noticed that EVERYONE doesn't want Audrey in the story so I'll minimize the Pacey- gross Audrey thing and I'll up the Pacey-Joey! On to the story…**

Joey wiped down her forehead for the eighth time tonight. The restaurant was completely packed and people still waited to eat. She lifted up her hair and wiped at the back of her neck.

"Hot?" Franks asked taking a napkin and wiping his face down.

"This place feels like hell now," Joey said dumping her napkin. "I'm going outside."

Joey opened the door to the porch when she saw Pacey standing by the railing.

"Oh, sorry," Joey said about to go back in.

"No, it's fine. We have to face each other sometime," Pacey said still looking away.

Joey nodded and moved next to him by the railing. "I guess you're right."

Pacey nodded while he took a puff from his cigarette. "It's been a week, Joey."

Joey watched as the smoke escaped his mouth. "That it has."

Pacey flicked the cigarette with his thumb to loose some ashes. "I don't like this tension between us," he said still looking away.

"I think it's never going to go away but I don't want to be your enemy, Pacey."

"Neither do I."

Joey watched him take another puff. The smoke left his mouth in a wisp of air and vanished. "When did you start smoking?" she asked.

Pacey looked at the cigarette in his hand before taking another puff. "Since summer started."

"Do you smoke a lot?"

"No, just when I get bummed out."

"Why are you bummed?"

Pacey finally turned to her and smiled. "If I told you, I'd have to kill ya."

Joey side smiled back. "There's the Pacey I remember. I was getting worried because you didn't make one joke the whole time we were talking."

Pacey smirked slightly. He never really knew how much he missed that smile until now. "You look good. I didn't say that before."

Joey tucked some hair behind her ears. She could feel a small blush come on. He still made her blush so easily. "Thanks. You look good yourself."

Pacey shook his head and looked away before taking another puff. "Na, I look like shit."

Joey just stood there. How do you respond to that comment?

"You know I'm coming tonight," Pacey said.

"I know. Jack told me," Joey responded.

Pacey flicked at his cigarette. "I'm bringing Audrey."

Joey swallowed hard. "The more the merrier," she said softly.

Pacey chuckled and took a puff. "Not when it comes to her. I don't even want to bring her tonight but she insists we spend tonight together. She never leaves me alone."

"Then why are you bringing her?"

"She's my girlfriend," was all he said.

Joey nodded. It still hurt her when she thought about Pacey having another girlfriend. She still wasn't completely over him but then again, would she ever be?

"I'm going to go back inside," Joey said squeezing Pacey on the shoulder. The short touch gave them both shocks.

Once inside, Joey spotted just who she wanted. "Frank, have any plans tonight?"

_**XXX**_

Jack's party went well. A lot of people showed up and the party was non-stop. Joey and Frank showed up a little after nine and Pacey and Audrey didn't show up till after ten. Audrey, who had gotten drunk shortly after they arrived, was all over Pacey who seemed less than interested. After a few good hours of dancing and drinking, it was time to die down. Joey and Frank had sat down by one of the tables and were talking when a noticeably drunk Audrey stumbled over.

"Hey guys, having fun?" Audrey asked with a bug slur.

Joey giggled a bit. "How much did you have to drink?"

Audrey lifted her shoulders. "I don't know, a few. It helps to clear my head. Today is Pacey and mine's one month anniversary and he didn't even remember. The boy never wants to touch me. There is something wrong with him."

Frank smiled at her. "Alcohol isn't the answer, Audrey."

Audrey laughed. "But it's sure a hell lot of fun!" she said before leaning back far.

Frank quickly grabbed her before she fell. "Joey, I'm going to get her some water to try and clear out the booze," he said slowly walking away with Audrey.

Joey smiled. Frank was such a sweetheart. If only she was ready to move on. She took another drink.

"Hey, Potter," Pacey said placing a cup next to her and smiling.

Joey smiled back. "Hey, Witter. You want another drink?"

Pacey shook his head. "No, thanks. Do you know where I can get away for a while?"

Joey nodded and stood up. "I know just the place."

_**XXX**_

Pacey leaned his head back against his chair and smiled up at the starry sky. "It's gorgeous. I didn't know the stars were visible from Boston."

Joey looked up and smiled as well. "Yeah, only in certain spots."

Pacey looked down and smiled at Joey. "This is like last year when you and I would lay and just watch the stars. I was so happy then, so content, so…"

"Alive," Joey finished with a slight smirk. "I wouldn't trade last year for the world."

"I don't know about the whole year but I wouldn't give up what I had with you for anything. You were the only good thing."

Joey bit her lip. "Pacey…"

"It's true, Joey," he cut in. "What we had was the only thing that felt right. I never wanted it to end."

Joey was so confused. She wanted to yell and scream and make him explain why he left her without saying a word but at the same time she wanted to be in his arms. "But you're with Audrey now," was all she said.

Pacey nodded. "That I am. The girl just doesn't understand that I don't want her."

"Then why don't you break up with her?"

Pacey looked at Joey. "The same reason you never broke up with Dawson: this is easier."

Joey felt like Pacey just threw a knife at her. She stood up. "Speaking of Audrey, we should get back down stairs. Audrey is pretty trashed."

Pacey rolled his eyes and walked to the stairs. "What else is new?"

_**XXX**_

Joey and Pacey went back down the stairs from the roof and climbed back through the window into the apartment.

Frank spotted Joey right away. "Hey, where'd you go?" he asked putting his arm over her shoulder.

Joey smiled wide and moved into his arm. "I was talking with Pacey. I'm back now."

Frank smiled a wide smile. "Good because I missed you."

Neither Frank nor Joey was aware of the glare that Pacey was giving.

"There you are!" Audrey said to Pacey with a drink in her hand.

Pacey took the drink from her hands. "You drink too much, you know that?"

Audrey rolled her eyes. "You're an ass, did you know that?"

Pacey chuckled and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "You're not great to be around either."

"How so?" Audrey asked putting her hands in her hips.

Pacey put the cigarette away. "Audrey, look at your self. You're drunk at a party where you don't know anyone. You always get drunk. It's embarrassing."

"I'm leaving and don't try to stop me," Audrey said turning up her nose.

"I won't," Pacey responded.

Audrey shook her head and stormed out. Pacey just watched her as she left, not really caring. He looked around and everyone was looking at him, including Joey and Frank. "Okay, okay, I'll go," Pacey said before slowly following Audrey out.

Joey turned to Frank. "We should get going. It's late."

Frank smiled. "Okay, let me just get the coats and then we can go," he said before walking away.

Joey nodded. She made her way to the window and looked out. A short way down the block there stood Audrey and Pacey, kissing. The sight made Joey shiver. Why would that hurt her so much? Clearly she was over Pacey and things were over between them…right?

"You okay?" Frank said with a look of concern as he handed Joey her coat.

Joey ran her hands across her face to make sure no tears had escaped. "Yeah," was all she said. How can you tell the guy you're with that you're heart is breaking all over again from an ex?

Frank moved his arm out so he could hold it. "Ready?"

Joey smirked and grabbed his hand instead. "Let's go," she said before leaving with him.

Back outside, the kiss ended suddenly between Pacey and Audrey before they started to walk again.

"That was nice," Audrey said with a smile.

Pacey finally lit his cigarette. "Yeah, just peachy."

"Why do you always smoke when you're with just me?" she asked.

"You make me want to smoke," he said taking a puff.

Audrey tried to stay in step with him. "Pacey, it's been a month now and we still haven't…you know."

"Haven't what?" he said flicking some ashes off his cigarette.

"We haven't had sex yet."

Pacey chuckled with the cigarette in his mouth. "Is that a long time for you?"

"Well, yeah. Isn't it for you?"

"No, I waited four months with my last girlfriend."

"Yeah and how long did that last?" Audrey said with a laugh.

"Seven months we were together," Pacey said with a smirk.

"So she was a prude," Audrey said trying to get that smirk off his face.

Pacey puffed again. "No, actually. She was far from a prude. We didn't have sex right away because she isn't a whore."

Audrey felt some anger build up. "Wow, could you be any blunter? Thanks for calling me a whore."

"I didn't say that," he said even though he was agreeing with her in his mind. He heard about Audrey Liddell. She was one of the easiest girls around. Some how, Pacey ended up dating her. He didn't even like her, he just felt bad for her.

"I guess you're right," Audrey said before stopping in front of a cab. "Do you want to spend the night?"

Pacey looked at her smiling face and stuck the cigarette in his mouth. "No, thanks. I'll see you around," he said before walking away from her.

Audrey wasn't the girl he wanted.

**(Okay, how long do you guys want me to have P/J apart? Because it's killing me to write chapters like this1 I mean, they're good, just so painful. Did you pick up in the cigarette thing? So, give me some feedback. Any questions, that won't reveal anything, I'll answer next chapter.)**


	12. A birthday wish

**I'm not sure how long I waited to post this chapter but I needed to. Thanks for all of the amazing reviews. Most of you think the same as I do so yay! So, about the smoking thing, I, personally, could see Pacey smoking. He should have on the show but they didn't make him. His character just seems like a depression smoker. I won't use it too much, I promise. I got a lot of mixed opinions, well, everyone wants P/J, which will come, but how that happens you guys are mixed. I love that! My goal with the last two chapters was to make you like someone but you also think they can be bad. Okay, no more from me…to the story!**

Joey sat on her bed and hunched over another book for her English class. She was already in her work clothes for the restaurant but had kept on her slippers. Joey had three more sentences to go when her phone rang. As always, a smile crept on her face and the butterflies started to fly in her stomach.

"What do you want, Witter?" she said with a smile.

It had only been two months since Joey and Pacey had started working together but they were friends again. Joey had eventually stopped hating Pacey and what he did had started to become part of the past.

Pacey smirked. He could tell that Joey was smiling on the other end. "Crabby much?"

"For you, always," Joey said. "You interrupted my reading."

"Hey, Potter, I can leave and you can get a different way to work."

"I'll be right down," she said before hanging up.

Pacey chuckled. This had become the regular routine between them. Pacey would call Joey to say that he was downstairs and they would banter back and forth about how he interrupted her. It was just like it was before. Pacey saw the elevator doors open and he smiled wider.

"What are you doing your homework at seven at night anyway?" he asked.

Joey smiled and rolled her eyes. "I was supposed to have the whole night to read but somebody signed me up to work for the next two hours for the stupid party. Who throws a party on a Sunday night?"

"Obviously someone rich if they can rent out the whole restaurant for the night."

"Lucky us then, let's get going," she said before they left.

_**XXX**_

Joey looked out the window. The sky had already blackened and the moon shown brightly in the night sky. Every so often they would pass a yellow orange lamp post on the street. Joey smiled and rested her eyes on the driver. His eyes were focused on the road. A frown was plastered on his young face. This was not right.

"You shouldn't be so glum. It's your birthday, Pacey," Joey said.

Pacey shook his head. "The day to mark the 19th pathetic year of my life."

"Don't day that. Your life is not pathetic. You, Pacey, are one of the most amazing men I have ever known. You have no idea how special you are."

Pacey looked at Joey and smiled. "Thanks, Jo," he said placing his hand on her knee.

Joey took in a short breath at his touch. She looked at his hand for a second just letting the feeling over take her. After a few seconds Joey placed her hand under his and held it in hers. "I meant every word," she said with a smile.

Pacey was surprised by her actions but interlocked his fingers with hers before looking back to the road.

_**XXX**_

It was time to close when Joey was stopped by one of the guests.

"What's your name?" the young tanned man asked her.

Joey smiled. He was definitely something to look at. "Joey Potter."

The man smiled a beautiful white smile. "Well Joey, I'm James Tanner and let me say that you are an amazing waitress."

She smiled again. This was going to be great.

In the meantime, Frank and Pacey glared at Joey and the guy.

"I can't believe his flirting with the waitress!" Pacey exclaimed.

"She's one good looking waitress," Frank said checking Joey out again.

Pacey felt a small hint of anger come up. "Still, he shouldn't be flirting with her."

Frank smiled at him. "Are you jealous?"

Pacey shook his head. "Why would I be jealous? I'm dating Audrey, remember?"

Frank rolled his green eyes and walked over to the now solo Joey.

"He seemed nice," he said.

Joey rolled her brown eyes. "Oh yeah, a regular price charming. I never knew that guys offered random girls sex."

Frank laughed. "Oh yeah, all the time. We'll even throw in a free backrub."

Joey laughed. Frank liked her laugh…hell, Frank liked Joey in general.

"Joey, can I ask you a question? It's kind of personal."

"Um, okay."

"Did you and Pacey date before? I just get the feeling that there's more there than just friendship."

Joey nodded slowly. "Yeah, we dated."

"How long? Two or three months?"

Joey nervously chuckled. "Try nine."

Frank's eyes got a bit wide. "Oh, nine months. So you two were pretty…close."

"He was my first."

"What happened between you two?"

Joey shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it. What happened with Pacey and I is in the past. We're just friends now and that's it."

Frank nodded. "Okay. I'll see you around I guess," he said before leaving.

Joey said goodbye and noticed Pacey was sweeping up by the bar.

"I didn't see Audrey today," Joey said taking a seat by the bar.

Pacey sighed and kept sweeping. "She took off today. She said something about my birthday but I wasn't listening."

"Speaking of your birthday, I got you something." Joey grabbed her purse and pulled out a 19 candle. She lit it and smiled.

Pacey took the candle and laughed. "This is all I get?"

"You should consider yourself lucky. The rest of my friends are just going to get a verbal happy birthday."

"Thank you for splurging on me Ms. Broke college woman."

Joey smiled. "So, make a wish."

Pacey closed his eyes and made a wish. He blew out the candle and smiled. "Let's get out of here."

_**XXX**_

Pacey and Joey walked down the street in silence. Once they reached Joey's dorm house they just stood there, looking at each other.

"Pace, answer my honestly, why do you hate your birthdays so much?" Joey asked with a sad face.

Pacey chuckled and looked down. "I really don't know. I guess it's because they just serve as a reality check for me. My life has gone so down hill since last year. I live in an apartment where I don't know anyone. I have a girlfriend that I can't stand. I've started this occasional habit that can kill me. I have a job that I like but it's in a place I hate…I've lost everything that used to make me happy. My birthday just makes all of this more real."

Joey shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You shouldn't feel like this. So maybe right now isn't the best time in your life but you're going to have an amazing future. Some day you're going to get rich from being a chef and marry some brilliant and beautiful woman and have a million gorgeous children and live happily ever after. All you need is a little faith."

Pacey locked eyes with Joey and smiled. They always got lost in each other's eyes. "Do you want to know what I wished for?"

Joey nodded. She was too lost in him to speak.

"I wished to be happy. Like when nothing could pull me down or when I always had a reason to smile…like when I was with you."

That was it. Joey was lost. She had officially begun to fall for Pacey again. Joey smiled and put her hands on his face. "Happy birthday, Pacey."

Joey softly placed her lips on his. She didn't apply any pressure. Pacey moved his arms around her and brought her closer before deepening the kiss. She moved her hands down to his shoulders and deepened the kiss even more while pushing more into him. Pacey didn't mind, he could never get enough of Joey Potter.

Meanwhile, Audrey wiped a few more tears off her face. She had been stood up by her boyfriend again. She had no idea what he was actually doing.


	13. Out with the new, in with the old

**So, thanks for the awesome reviews! I'm guessing you guys hate Audrey as much as I do…great! I'm going to change things a bit and hopefully you'll like this more…for now. I'm sorry you don't like Frank; I tried to make him likeable. He's not that much, if any, of an interference though. All of you are wondering about what's going to happen and I'm going to tell you…………. You have to wait and see. I know, evil, but I can't give anything away. Where's the fun in that? So I won't make you wait any longer…to the story!**

The night wind started to pick up. With every second it grew colder outside and even darker. They didn't care. This was the moment they were waiting for and nothing was going to ruin it…well, almost nothing. A speeding police car ended the kiss. They broke apart and didn't say a word.

Joey ran a hand in her hair and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, Pacey. I…"

"No need to apologize. I was involved too," Pacey said before sucking in his bottom lip. He could still taste her.

"Yeah but I was the one that started it. You have a girlfriend and what I did was wrong."

"Jo, we did do this before when someone was attached."

Joey nodded. He was right. This wasn't the first time that they ended up kissing when one or both of them were with someone else.

_The snow was falling outside. Joey hated the dead of winter. She was happy to be inside, even if it was with Pacey. Joey stared out the window at the white snow._

"_Hey, Ice queen, do ya think we can get back to work?" Pacey said._

_Joey turned around and walked towards him on the bed. "Who's the one who waited till the last minute to read the poem, Jailbait? And get your disgusting shoes off my bed."_

_Pacey sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. "You have some major O.C.D. going on."_

_Joey squinted. "Maybe if you weren't such a Neanderthal pig, I wouldn't have to clean after I see you."_

"_Whoa, Nellie, relax. I see you haven't taken that stick out of your ass yet."_

"_Obviously not if I didn't beat you with it yet."_

_Pacey rolled his eyes. "Can we get back to the poem already?"_

"_Wow, Jailbait wanting to actually learn. Your parents must be so proud," Joey said with a grin._

"_Yeah, they're ecstatic. What do I need to know about this thing?"_

_Joey lifted her shoulders. "What do you think about the poem?"_

"_I think the poem is boring and I shouldn't be forced into reading something I don't want to."_

_Joey rolled her eyes. "A real response please."_

"_I don't know. The poem's about a woman. The writer must be in love with her or something."_

_Joey moved in her swivel chair. He wasn't even trying. "Pace, the poem is about more than just some woman. The poem is about romance and the love he feels for this woman. He says that this woman is the only reason he is alive. She's his sunshine, his moonlight…how can you even think that this poem is anything but beautiful?"_

"_He doesn't even mention her name."_

"_He doesn't have to. There is so much passion in this poem that her name is insignificant."_

_Pacey smiled. He leaned forward and placed his hands on her knees. "It amazes me, Jo. You have so much passion for the littlest things. You always put your heart into everything you do. I have never known another person who was so amazed by a poem."_

_Joey took in a long broken breath. Unconsciously, Pacey had begun rubbing his thumbs back and forth on her knees. Joey was well aware of the action and honestly, she didn't want him to stop. She leaned forward a bit. "Is that a bad thing?"_

_Pacey leaned forward as well so they were a few inches apart. "It's a beautiful thing," he whispered with a smile._

_Before Joey could stop her self, she closed the small gap between them and connected her lips with his. This was odd to Joey. She always wanted to kill or at least extremely hurt Pacey and here she was, kissing him. _

_Pacey broke the kiss quickly and sat back. He wanted to kiss her but he just started dating the new girl, Andie. Joey too, had just gotten back together with Dawson and he couldn't do that to his best friend, no matter how good Joey tasted._

"_Joey, I'm sorry but I'm dating Andie and you're with Dawson. I couldn't hurt them."_

_Joey shook he head. Pacey was right. They had other people and it wouldn't be fair. Joey couldn't cheat and Dawson, he would NEVER cheat on her. "No, I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment and I don't know what came over me."_

_Pacey stood up. "It's okay. I kissed you back so I'm to blame. I should get going."_

_Joey nodded. "Yeah, I think that's best."_

_Pacey opened the door and left. He sucked in his bottom lip and could still taste her. Joey was still as sweet as he remembered._

They've been through so much since then.

Joey finally looked up just in time to catch his eyes. "What do we do now?" she asked.

Pacey sighed. "I guess we go our separate ways and forget that this happened," he said. Honestly, he didn't want to forget the kiss because he didn't want it to stop.

Joey frowned. She was hoping for a different outcome. "Okay, that's the plan. I'll see you at work tomorrow then."

Pacey nodded and they went their separate ways.

_**XXX**_

Thursday…

"Pacey, did you get the tickets for tonight?" Audrey asked after the shift.

Pacey shook his head. "Damn, I knew I forgot something. I'm sorry, Aud, I'll pick them up on my way home."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "You're always so fucking forgetful!" she yelled.

Everyone left the room. They knew better than to stay when Audrey and Pacey were going to have a fight.

Pacey stared at her. "You need to lower your voice, Audrey. You've been jumping on me all week. Are you drunk again?"

Audrey slapped him. "Screw you!"

Pacey gave her a cold look. "No, screw you. I know about the bottle you keep in your purse."

Audrey's mouth dropped. "You should be happy." She stuck up her nose and left.

Pacey watched her leave and sighed. He needed a cigarette. He took one out of his pocket and headed outside. As Pacey opened the door, he lit the cigarette. He lifted back up his eyes and _she_ was there.

"Hey," she said with her crooked smile.

Pacey removed the cigarette from his lips. "Hey," he said back. All of their conversations had been of one syllable grunts that week.

They stood there, Joey picking at her nail and Pacey smoking, in silence.

"You need to stop smoking," Joey said finally.

Pacey laughed. "I know. I don't even like the taste."

"Then why smoke?"

"It's the only thing that gets me through the day."

Joey nodded. It was too awkward. "I'll see ya," she said walking away.

"Okay," he said before bringing the cigarette back to his lips.

Joey stopped and looked at him. "Pace?"

Pacey looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Try and be happy, okay?" she said giving him her crooked smile.

Pacey smiled and nodded. "Will do, Potter; will do."

_**XXX**_

Pacey took the long walk to her dorm. He could have driven, but he wanted some time to think. Pacey wasn't sure how he was going to tell her. He did this plenty of times before but never with someone like her. She seemed so…fragile. It didn't matter; he had to get this over and done with so he wouldn't be leading her on anymore. Pacey walked up the three steps and into the dorm house. He went up to the 6th floor and knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" she yelled from the other side.

"It's me, Pacey. We need to talk."

She opened the door. Her hair was a mess and her makeup was smeared. "I didn't expect to see you here tonight," she said.

Pacey took a deep breath. "I can't take it anymore. This whole week we've barely spoken to each other. Things have been going downwards. I know you have feelings for me but I don't have any for you. I don't want to lead you on anymore. What happened between us was a mistake and I should have told you before."

She wiped away a few loose tears. "So that's it? We just stop everything between us?"

"No, we can be friends if you want. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Then why do this?"

"Because what was going on between us was driving me crazy. You're the reason I kept on smoking. You told me to happy but I can't; not like this and not with you."

"You're an ass. I hope you rot in hell!"

Pacey nodded and started to walk away. She watched him walk away and wanted him more than ever.

"Pacey! Wait!" she called after him.

The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside. "What!" he said back.

"Can you honestly say you don't want me?"

Pacey grinned. "I don't want you…Audrey."

The doors closed.

_**XXX**_

Friday…

"It's pretty quiet here tonight," Frank said to Joey.

Joey nodded. "Yeah. Audrey isn't screaming at Pacey."

"You didn't hear? Pacey dumped her last night."

"Really?" Joey said a bit surprised.

"Yeah, I heard it was a bit intense too. Hey, I gotta get back to work so I'll talk to you later," Frank said before walking away.

Joey had to find out if this was true. She went to the only place she would find Pacey during his break: outside. She opened the door and there he was, but he wasn't smoking.

"I see you're smoke-free tonight," she said approaching him.

Pacey smiled at her from the wall he was leaning back on. "Yeah. I don't need to smoke anymore."

Joey nodded. It was awkward again. It had been awkward like this all week.

"So," she began, "I heard you broke up with Audrey."

Pacey sighed. "Yup. I did it last night. I took your advice and tried to find some happiness. I had to let her go."

Joey looked at her hands. "Why'd you do it?"

"Many a reason, Joey. She wasn't right for me."

Joey scrunched her face and slowly looked up at him. "It wasn't because of me, was it?" she said in a laugh tone.

Pacey looked at her in the eyes. "Do you want it to be because of you?"

"I…I don't know. One side is telling me that I don't want it to be because of me because I don't want to be the reason for the breakup but the other side…I don't know."

"What are you trying to say, Jo?"

"What I'm trying to say is…is that I felt something when we kissed. It felt like old times and I felt so safe. All of these old feelings came rushing back into me and I liked it. I missed kissing you and I'm not sure that I wanted it to stop. That's what I was trying to say."

Pacey nodded. It was a lot to take in. "Jo…"

"I know you don't feel the same but I just needed to tell you. I'll see you around,' she said before starting to walk away.

Pacey grabbed her wrist before she moved to far. "I feel the same way, Joey," he said before bringing her to him and kissing her.

They closed their eyes and wrapped each other's arms around one another, just letting the past feelings mix with the present.

**Hee, spooked ya a bit didn't I? I'll update soon : ) **


	14. It's official

**It's been a while (great song) since I've last updated. I'm so sorry about that. I wanted to finish my other story before I continued with this one. But here's a new chapter…enjoy!**

"It's been a week, Jen," Joey said into her cell phone.

Joey had been sitting on a bench in the middle of the Worthington campus just thinking when Jen had called.

"Well that's not long at all," Jen replied.

"Pacey hasn't said one word to me. Not one word. Why did I have to kiss him? I feel so stupid."

"Joey, you're not stupid. Did it ever occur to you that maybe Pacey is just as confused as you are?"

"That's still not a reason to not talk to me."

"You didn't talk to him either."

"…True…"

That's when he walked in front of her. Everything froze. Joey could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. "Pacey?" she said softly.

He turned his greenish blues towards the sound and stopped walking when he saw her. She was sitting on a bench with a dark blue hoodie on; _his_ hoodie. Her hair was left wavy. That's when the memory hit him.

_Pacey and Joey were lying under the sheets, getting themselves together after their recent "encounter." It was the first Saturday after the trip to Harvard. The beginning of the week they barely spent time together. Joey was still trying to cope with the complete removal of Dawson and, even though she denied missing him, Pacey knew that a part of her deteriorated that day. As the week progressed, though, they had begun to be more intimate with each other, this time in public. Finally, after a week not spending any afternoons or nights together, Pacey had invited Joey over that Saturday evening when Gretchen wasn't supposed to be back till late. What began as an innocent movie night, quickly escalated into a few hours of passion and a scattered trail of clothes leading into Pacey's room. So there they were, Joey in the crook of his arm and Pacey holding her on her hip with his eyes closed and on his back._

_Joey lifted her head off his chest so she could see his face. He looked so sweet. Joey smirked._

"_What's going through that head of yours?" Pacey said with a smirk as he opened his eyes._

_Joey lifted her shoulders. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about how different this is."_

"_Different good or different bad?" Pacey said holding onto her more._

"_Definitely good. Two weeks ago I blushed every time you watched me as I put back on my shirt or fixed up my pants and now look at me. Here we are, completely naked, and I couldn't feel more comfortable. It's even different because I'm with you. If someone would have told me I would lose my virginity to you, I would have laughed in their face. I had no idea that an amazing person was under all that cockiness."_

_Pacey started stroking her arm. "And I had no idea that under the rough exterior, there was a sex goddess."_

_Joey smacked him hard on the arm. "I'm trying to be serious, Pacey."_

_Pacey chuckled. "So am I! Jo, if I would have known how great this was I would have seduced you a lot sooner."_

"_I thought I was the one who seduced you," Joey retorted._

_Pacey smiled and kissed her sweetly. "You think that, baby."_

_Joey rolled her eyes. "You are never going to change."_

"_You know it's true, Joey. I know how hard it is for you to keep your hands off me. You were about ready to do it in the car when I picked you up."_

_She looked at him and smirked for a second. "Sweetie, you're delusional."_

_He grinned wide and moved her so she was on top of him. "You were thinking about it, weren't you? Now don't lie because I saw you smirking. Joey Potter was actually thinking about having sex with her boyfriend in a car. Tell me Jo; were you or I on top? Because I would really like to know for future reference…"_

"_Pace, shut up," Joey said before kissing him. That was the only way she knew how to make him keep quiet. _

_Pacey smiled against her lips before deepening the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his hands on her back. As the kiss continued, his hands slowly made their way down. Joey began to feel the heat again and well, that heat only got her into trouble. She broke the kiss and crawled off to the side of the bed. Pacey sat up quickly._

"_Potter!" Pacey said to her._

_Joey wrapped the top sheet around her and began to look around the floor. "Pacey, we don't have time for that. I need to get dressed… when I find my clothes. We made such a mess. I'm going to track down my clothes and put them on and I suggest you do the same, seeing as Gretchen will be home soon," she said putting his boxers on the bed._

_Pacey rolled his eyes and slid them on under the remaining sheet. "Fine," he huffed before getting up and straightening up the bed. _

_Joey, finding only her socks and underwear in the room, put on what she could before wrapping the sheet tighter around her before opening the door. "I'm going to see what I can find in the hallway," she said closing the door behind her._

_Joey made her way down the hallway and stairs, stopping every so often to pick up the clothes. She found Pacey's socks, pants, undershirt and his T- shirt. She also found her pants, cami, shirt and hair tie._

'_**Where is my bra?**' Joey said to her self as she rounded the corner into the living room._

_Joey caught her breath at what she saw. _

"_Gretchen…Hhey. I, uh, I wasn't expecting to see you," Joey barely said._

"_I'm guessing that's why you're wearing the sheet," Gretchen replied._

_Joey took in a sharp breath. "See, I was just um…" she began to turn a bright red._

_Gretchen shook her head. "I don't need to know what you were just doing. Listen, I get that you and Pacey are young and in love and just started…this new part of your relationship, but I would really appreciate it if you two tried to be neater." She held up Joey's bra. "Things like this should stay in his room, okay?"_

_Joey could only nod. She wasn't even sure if she was breathing._

_Gretchen smiled and put the bra on top of the pile Joey was carrying. "Good, you can go now."_

"_Okay," Joey squeaked before heading back upstairs._

_Once back in the bedroom, Joey closed the door and put her back flat against it before dropping the pile of clothes to the floor with a red face._

_Pacey smiled at her blush. "What happened? You're as red as a tomato," he said with a small laugh._

_Joey rolled her eyes and sat on the bed. "As I was picking up the trail of clothes, clad in nothing but a sheet, **Gretchen **just happened to come home and see me."_

_Pacey chuckled. "That sucks," he said between laughs._

_Joey smirked but hit him hard on the arm. "Don't laugh! Why didn't you go and pick up the clothes? Some boyfriend you are."_

_Pacey shook his head and kissed her lightly, still with a smirk. "I'm sorry, baby. Next time I'll be a better boyfriend and pick them up."_

"_How do you know there'll be a next time, smart ass?" Joey said._

"_I just do. C'mon, Jo, I'll take you home," he said before hitting her knee and standing up._

_Joey shook her head furiously. "No. There is no way that I'm going out there."_

"_What are you going to do then?"_

_Joey bit her lip. "I'll…climb out through your window."_

"_Joey, we're on the second floor. You'd kill yourself."_

"_Then I'll sleep here."_

"_Bessie won't let you."_

"_I don't care, Pacey! I am not going to face your sister today."_

"_Fine," Pacey said before walking to his dresser. He opened a drawer and pulled out a dark blue hoodie. "You can sleep in this and there's a phone by the closet. You should go call her."_

_Joey smiled and took the hoodie before grabbing the phone and closing the closet door behind her._

_Pacey laid down on the bed and pulled up his comforter. The conversation must have lasted a while because he ended up falling asleep. Joey ended her phone call and walked over to the bed in the hoodie. She smiled at Pacey who had fallen asleep. Joey turned off the light, got into bed and cuddled under the covers next to him._

"_Pace, I talked to Bessie. She's going to let me spend the night," she said in a sweet and soft tone._

_Pacey, who had just awoken, smirked a bit. "Really?" he said in a groggy voice._

"_Yes, really. Bessie trusts me and understands that I am a mature and responsible adult."_

"_What did you really tell her?" he asked not believing Joey._

"_Okay, so maybe I told her I was sleeping over by Jen's house."_

"_So much for trust," he said with a smirk._

_Joey rolled her eyes. "Go to sleep," she said before kissing him._

_Pacey pulled her closer. "Okay," he whispered._

_Joey watched him for a bit. "Hey Pace," Joey said into his ear._

"_Hmm?"_

"_You do realize you're probably not going to get this hoodie back, right?"_

_Pacey chuckled. "I guessed that."_

_Joey smiled before closing her eyes for the night._

"Pacey!"

The sound of his name quickly brought him back into reality.

"Uh…Hey, Joey," he said.

"Hi," she said shortly.

"How have you been?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "Absolutely stupendous."

"That's good, "Pacey said trying to ignore the sarcasm.

"And you?" she said with an almost sneer.

"I've been okay. Jo, about this past week, I…"

"You what Pacey? You forgot that I existed?"

"No…"

Joey laughed and crossed her arms. "Go ahead, tell me. This should be good."

Pacey cleared his throat. "It was just…awkward, ya know? I didn't know what to say."

"So you thought not saying anything at all would be better?"

Pacey nodded slowly. "Bad logic, I know."

"That's an understatement."

"How about I make it up to you? Tonight, why don't you come over to my place?"

Joey could feel a small smirk coming on. "Um, okay. I think I can find some time to check out the Witter apartment."

Pacey smiled. "Good, that's…great. You should ask Jack and Jen to come along as well."

Joey was taken back. "…sure…"

"Alright, see you guys tonight," he said before leaving.

XXX

"Jen, why can't I wear what I'm wearing already?" Joey said looking at her clothes.

Jen looked her up and down before going back into her closet. "You need to look nice, Joey. You never know what could happen."

"Oh yes I do," Joey said from her place on the bed. "Nothing is going to happen."

"You don't know that," Jen said before throwing a shirt to Joey. "Put that on."

Joey took off her hoodie and put on the new shirt. "I do know, Jen. If Pacey wanted anything to happen he wouldn't have invited you and Jack along."

"Jack and I are just a minor detail. Pacey probably just wanted us there so he wouldn't maul you as soon as you walked in."

"Or kill me. Pacey has become pretty handy with the knives lately."

"Don't worry. He would have his way with you before he sliced and diced."

Joey threw a pillow at Jen's head. "That's reassuring."

Jen smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well. We should get going. I'm sure you don't want to be late to see you lover boy."

"You should sleep with one eye open from now on," Joey said following Jen outside.

The two girls got into Joey's car and waited a few minutes for Jack. Jen opened her door and beeped Joey's horn.

"JACK! LET'S GO!" Jen screamed.

Jack hurried to the car, holding one shoe as he walked. "What's the hurry?" he said getting into the car.

Jen rolled her eyes. He was definitely the worse gay man to ever live. "Jack, where are we going?" Jen said as calmly as she could.

"By Pacey's house," jack replied.

"And who is in the car with us?" Jen asked, feeling like she was talking to a two year old.

"Joey," he replied simply.

"And why might she want to see Pacey?"

Jack thought about it. "I…don't…know."

Joey rolled her eyes and looked and him in the back seat. "Jack! I haven't talked to Pacey since last week and I would really like to get this over with and hopefully find out why he told me he wanted me and then ignored me for a whole FRICKEN week!"

Jack could almost see the steam come out of her head. "I understand now. Well then, we should stop wasting time talking and go."

Both girls rolled their eyes before they took off.

XXX

The snow had just begun to fall as Joey gained enough courage to get out the car. Jack and Jen had already left. Her excuse? She forgot something in the car. Lame, but time consuming. Joey locked up her car and looked at his building. The building was a dull tanish brick with a few red ones here and there. A window that looked into the basement apartment had been covered with duct tape. There were three apartments in that building. Joey would find out later that Mrs. Smith and her six cats lived in the basement and Mr. Fisher, an old a crabby man, lived on the second floor. Pacey lived on the first floor. Each apartment had its own entrance. Pacey's was on the side of the building. Joey dug her hands deep into her coat pockets and walked the short walk to his door. Once she reached it, she just looked. The door was red. Not a dull red wither but an illuminating red. There was a small glass window on the top of the door. Light showed through. Joey's stomach began to flop. Slowly she took her finger out of her pocket and brought it to the doorbell. Once her finger barely touched it, the door opened.

Pacey was standing on the other side. His coat was half hanging off his shoulders. Their eyes instantly connected. Her browns mixed with his greenish blues and nothing could break the connection. Breathing had slowed down, if not stopped. They searched in each other's eyes for something, but they weren't sure of what. All they knew was that they had this connection that people only dreamed of. The connection was nothing new to them. Ever since they were little, when their eyes caught the others, time had stopped. Joey hadn't found this connection with any one else. A few times she had tried to look into Dawson's eyes, but he laughed at her and called her crazy because she was staring. There really was nothing to find in his eyes. Joey didn't even want to think about Dawson after the summer incident. Pacey couldn't find this connection with any one else as well. Tamara, Andie, Audrey; Pacey just couldn't get these kind of sparks from looking into their eyes. Honestly, he never got these sparks with any of them. Sure, he had loved Andie and Tamara, but not to a point that every fiber in his body had felt alive at the mere thought of them. They had broken his heart and tried to repair it…unsuccessfully. Then Joey happened. She hadn't tried to mend his heart ever. She just cared for him. In the process, though, his heart had mended by itself and loved her. He truly loved her. This awoke feelings he thought never existed. Even this time around, Joey had not tried to fix what she broke but just cared for him. As always, his heart fixed itself, slowly but surely. Still, there was that fear.

Joey gave a small smirk. "Hey," she said breaking the silence.

Pacey smirked back. "Hey," he said. "Do you want to come in?"

Joey nodded and went inside. Her eyes were still connected with his. She took off her coat.

"I'll take your coat," Pacey said taking the coat from her.

They kept staring at each other for a few more seconds Pacey broke it and looked at the floor. Joey, a bit saddened by the break, walked into the tiny living room and sat on the couch next to her two friends, and Jen was smiling at her.

"What?" Joey said to her smirking friend.

"That was some staring contest you two had going on," Jen replied.

Joey blushed a little and tucked some hair behind her ear before looked away. "Yeah," was all she said.

Jen smiled again. She had noticed that as Pacey was putting some chips in a bowl, he kept sneaking glances at Joey and smiling. Jen decided that these two needed some serious help. They were mad about each other and were too scared to just say it. An Idea popped into her head and her grin grew bigger.

"Pacey," Jen said to him from across the room.

Pacey looked up. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you show Joey around? Jack and I have already seen this place."

Joey had mouthed a very mean no to Jen. Pacey looked at the back of Joey's head and smiled. "What do you say, Potter? Want to see my place?"

Joey quickly turned around. When her eyes caught his all of her anger left her. "Okay," she said getting up.

The pair walked into another room. Jen quickly got up and pulled Jack up with her.

"Hey!" Jack said.

Jen put her hand firmly over Jack's mouth. "Shut up!" she spat in a whisper. "We are leaving…now!"

"But I'm hungry," Jack whispered as he followed Jen to the door.

Jen rolled her eyes and picked up the bowl of chips with the hand that wasn't holding the coats. "Here," she said shoving the bowl into his stomach. "Let's go already. We need to catch a cab."

With that, Jen and Jack were off.

"It's a decent place you got here," Joey said walking back into the living room with Pacey, still looking at him.

"What did you expect? I work for eight buck an hour. This was all I could afford," he said.

Pacey looked around the living room and noticed Jen and jack were gone. He laughed. "They left," he said.

Joey laughed as well. "They took your chips with them," she said with a smirk.

Pacey shook his head. "I can't believe they left us alone!"

Joey bit her lip and looked at him. "Is it really that bad being alone with me?"

Pacey sighed. "I didn't mean it like that, Joey."

"What did you mean then?"

"I meant that I can't believe they just left when we were in another room. I don't mind being alone with you; in fact, I prefer to be alone with just you."

"Why did you invite Jen and Jack if that was true?"

"I was nervous I guess. I hadn't spoken to you in a week and then I was going to be alone with you. I'm sorry about that, Jo. I did mean what I said before."

"You did?" Joey said with a small smirk.

Pacey smirked as well. "Of course, Joey. You make me happy. I fell like nothing could pull me down. It's nice to have someone care for me just the way I am, not who they think I can be. When I'm with you I feel so…"

"Alive?" Joey said for him.

Pacey nodded slightly. "Yeah," he said in a husky tone.

Joey smirked again and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I feel the same way," she said before kissing him.

Pacey wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down onto the couch.

XXX

"That's it? You only kissed him?" Jen said through the phone.

"For like three hours, Jen. Then some alarm broke the mood and I went home," Joey said fixing her shirt. It was about a half hour before she had to work.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing. We've made out a few more times since then."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know and honestly it doesn't matter. I don't need to define this. Pacey and I are together…kind of, and it works for me." Just then there was a knock on her door. "Jen, someone's here so I have to let you go," she said before hanging up the phone.

Joey opened her door and a grinning Pacey was on the other side.

"Pace, you're…" Joey was cut off by Pacey kissing her. She didn't mid at all. These were the nice interruptions.

Pacey picked her up and placed her gently on the bed. He began to trail kisses down her neck.

"You're early," she said as best as she could with a steady voice.

"I know. I just missed you so much, Jo," Pacey said in a husky voice between kisses.

"My shirt is getting wrinkled," Joey barely said.

Pacey brought his face back up to hers. "I'm sorry, Baby."

Joey could feel the heat. She loved it when he called her baby. "It's okay," she said quickly before running her fingers in his hair and kissing him deeply.

XXX

It was nothing new. They had been like this the whole time. They always ignored each other at work. It wasn't the best thing for either of them but yet they kept it up. It was even worse when Audrey and Frank came into the picture.

"Hey Pacey," Audrey said running a hand down Pacey's arm.

"Hi," he said feeling repulsed by her.

"How've you been?" she said taking a seat next to him. It was closing time.

Pacey smiled as he remembered. "Great."

"Oh," she said a bit sad. "I've missed you."

"That's nice."

"Have you missed me?" Audrey said with a smile.

Pacey looked at her. He couldn't stand her but he didn't want to be mean. "Not really," he said quietly.

Audrey only nodded.

Joey had been watching them. Boy was she jealous. What is the worse way to get back at someone? Get them jealous. Joey made her way to Frank and began flirting.

"Hey," she said in a sexy voice.

Frank smiled wide at her. "Hey, Joey," He said back.

"How was your day?" she said crossing her legs on the stool she was sitting on. This just happened to be close to Pacey and Audrey. Pacey had begun to ignore Audrey and glare at what Joey and Frank were doing.

"It just got better now that I see you," Frank replied. Joey smiled.

This was too much for Pacey. He decided to go somewhere else. Joey had continued with this flirting for a few more minutes before noticing that Pacey wasn't around. She excused herself and went to look for him. As she passed the janitor's closet, she was pulled in, only to be caught in a kiss by Pacey.

"We're going to get in trouble," Pacey said between kisses.

Joey backed up against a wall. "I don't care," she said before kissing him harder.

Nick, the boss of Civilization, just so happened to walk past and see the two. He walked in and cleared his throat. "Witter! Potter! My office now!" he said before walking out.

Joey and Pacey walked timidly to his office. Nick had taken a seat behind his desk and just stared at him.

"Listen," he began calmly. "I understand that you're young and very open to anything right now. And it's fine that you two are together and happy and what not, but I'm waning you, if I ever catch you doing that again, you both are fired…got it?"

All they did was nod. What could you say? They had been caught making out; in a janitor's closet no less.

"Good," Nick said with a smile. "Now go home."

Pacey and Joey left the office as well as the restaurant and started to walk to the car.

"This is crazy," Pacey finally broke the silence.

"I know," Joey agreed.

"Jo, I don't want to make-out in the back of a janitor's closet because we can't keep away from each other. I knew we both want more than that. You deserve more than just person to fool around with once in a while…"

"What are getting at Pacey?"

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want you to be my girlfriend again. This time there won't be sneaking around or stolen kisses, just you and I together."

Once they reached the car they just stood there. "I would like that," Joey said.

Pacey grinned. "So it's official?"

Joey smiled and nodded. "I suppose so. Pacey Witter, you are my boyfriend once again."

Pacey kissed her and got into the car. "So, Potter, how does it feel being the girlfriend of Pacey Witter for the out numbered second time?"

Joey smirked. "It feels good, even though I have to sacrifice my single life."

"But you did gain a lot of good kisses."

"That is true," Joey said in agreement. She couldn't say that kissing him wasn't good. Hell, even great…but she wouldn't tell him that.

They had no idea that the flirting they did today was going to have a bigger affect on Audrey and Frank than they planned.


	15. An Honest Christmas

**This beginning of this chapter was actually supposed to be for the last chapter but I thought hey, why not add another chapter? I've been working really hard to get this chapter out A.S.A.P. as a treat because I know it took me like a month to add the last chapter. Might have some drama, of course, but no breakups in this chapter I promise. I noticed that no one picked up on my line from the last chapter about a summer incident with Dawson. I suppose you all think it was what he did at the beginning of summer. Just remember, neither of them knew what Dawson did. To the story. Happy Holidays!**

The goose bumps had begun to rise.

The butterflies started to flutter.

A smile wouldn't leave.

These feeling had become a daily thing for Joey Potter. It was nice to have something that was constant. She laid on her stomach and tried to read her book. As always, Pacey distracted her, but in the best way possible.

"I need to read," she said with a smile.

Pacey, who was trailing kisses down her back, said, "Go ahead."

Joey felt sparks with every kiss. "Pacey!"

He ignored her and kept kissing, now up to her upper back.

Joey turned her body half way around, causing him to stop, so she could look at him. "Pacey, I can't read with you doing that."

Pacey sighed. "Aw, c'mon Jo. I have five minutes before I leave for work."

She smirked and laid her head against the bed. "I guess five minutes won't hurt," Joey said before bringing him down for a kiss.

This was great! Pacey was finally happy again and he could stay like this forever. Too bad the phone started to ring.

Joey reached over and grabbed her phone, all the while staying in the same position. "Hello?" she said into the phone.

"_Hey Jo, its Bessie."_

Joey's eyes got wide and she tried to push Pacey off her…unsuccessfully. He only ended up trailing kisses down her neck.

"H…Hi Bess. What's up?" she said with a crackle in her voice.

"_Are you okay?"_

Pacey ran his index finger in a zigzag down to her stomach. The heat rose as he moved along.

"Bess," Joey squeaked. "I have to call you back." She quickly hung up the phone. Joey rolled away from Pacey and got off the bed.

Pacey sat on his knees and lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

Joey smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Yes. Pace, you haven't gone home in two days. You go to work and then come back here until work the next day. All we've done all week is make- out…"

"You make it sound like you don't like it," Pacey said grabbing her by the waist and pulled her towards him on the bed.

Joey instantly put her fingers in his ungroomed hair. "No, I like this. Doing anything with you is nice."

"Then we shouldn't stop," Pacey said before leaning in for a kiss.

Joey pushed him back a bit before he could kiss her. "Pace, you only have a few minutes and…we need to talk."

Pacey brought his legs from underneath him so he could fit in a more comfortable position. "I thought it would be a while before I heard those words."

Joey sat down next to him. "It's not like that. This doesn't have to do anything with you and me, just you and Bessie."

Pacey lifted an eyebrow. "Bessie? Your sister Bessie?"

Joey nodded. "Christmas is next week and I promised her I would come home that weekend. I want you to come with me."

Pacey chuckled a bit. "Me? Go to Capeside? That's funny, Jo."

Joey gave him a hard look. "What's so funny about it?"

"I haven't been in Capeside since…you know…and I haven't spoken to my family just as long. I could be dead and buried for all they care. Not to mention Bessie. I'm sure she would kill me if she saw me."

"You're probably right. Bessie will kill you, and your family wouldn't care if you came home but I do, Pace. I want to spend Christmas with the two most important things in my life: my family and you."

Pacey didn't really hear what she said but smiled wide. "So I'm important to you, huh?"

Joey rolled her eyes playfully. "You really are so daft. Of course you're important to me. You have always been important to me and you always will be. That's why I want to spend Christmas with you."

His grin grew bigger. This girl, no, this woman, was amazing. How did he get so lucky to have her twice? Pacey pulled her onto his lap. "Joey, do you know how much you mean to me and how much I need you?"

Joey did a sweet side smirk. "You can remind me."

"You mean the world to me. There is not a minute that goes by when I'm not thinking of you. If you weren't around I would have probably gotten lung cancer a long time ago. You are the one thing that makes everything better."

Joey kissed him softly. "This is the Pacey Witter I remember," she said before kissing him again.

That was where the conversation ended.

XXX

It was a long ride to Capeside. Roads were blocked, cars crashed, and snow fell. It was turning out to be a white Christmas. The two didn't talk very much on the three hour drive back home.

Pacey was nervous. He was about to go back to a place that reminded him of pains. Every time he even neared Capeside, Pacey was thrown back in time to his high school years. He instantly became outcast again. He was Pacey Witter: black sheep of the family, straight C student, dork beyond reason, and Dawson Leery's number two. That was the role he hated the most. Pacey could never amount to anything close to the golden child. He lost everything to him; toys, money, girls…he had lost Joey to him only a few months ago. That bastard. Dawson knew how Pacey felt about Joey and yet he went after her. He needs to be smacked. It didn't matter though, Pacey had Joey all to himself this time and Dawson wasn't in the picture…for now.

Pacey might have been nervous but it was Joey who was wrecked. She feared going back to Capeside. Once Bessie would find out that Pacey was staying for Christmas as Joey's boyfriend, she would flip. Ever since Pacey left Joey out of the blue, Bessie had to watch her sister cry herself to sleep. Bessie detested Pacey for the things he did to her sister. Bessie wasn't the biggest thing on Joey's mind. Her thoughts were mostly focused on Dawson. He would probably be home for Christmas as well. Joey made sure that she stayed clear from anything to do with the Leery's. She had nothing against Gale and Mitch; she just didn't want to face Dawson ever again. Joey didn't even want to think about him after what he did to her at the end of summer. She still felt stupid. If only she would have let him kiss her, none of that would have happened. Since Bessie insisted, Joey put a restraining order against him. She figured that she would try and live on with her shattered life in Boston and he would move on with his in Los Angeles, never having to see him or be affected by him again…that's not the case.

Finally, they had reached the B&B. Pacey parked the car in front of the house and stared.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Joey asked placing her hand on his.

Pacey was pulled out of his own little world and looked at her. "Yeah, just a lot of memories. Anyway, are you sure you want me to leave you here by yourself?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. I need to face Bessie and her condescending remarks by myself. You go and have fun by your family's house."

"Seeing them is as much fun as driving a rusty nail into your foot before steeping on salt."

"Always so mellow dramatic. I'm sure everything will be fine. I, on the other hand, will be lectured, shunned and probably even shown graphs about my destructive behavior. It's going be pretty hard to keep the place copasetic for your arrival. Wish me luck." And with that, Joey was out the door and heading into the B&B.

XXX

Joey came into the B&B and greeted everyone before going to take a shower. She spent a long time in there, trying to figure out how to break the news to Bessie. Everyone was in their pajamas already because only Christmas day is celebrated within the small group of families. By the time Joey finally had the nerve to talk to Bessie, it was already nine o'clock. Joey walked into the living room and sighed when she saw Bessie was sitting on the couch next to Bodie.

"Bess?" Joey called softly.

Bessie turned her head to her sister and smiled. "Yeah?" she said.

"Could I…could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure."

"…alone…"

Bessie got up from her seat and followed Joey into the other room. "What's up?" she said softly.

Joey began to fiddle with her hands. "Bessie, I've been seeing someone lately."

Bessie smiled wide. She was happy for her sister. Joey deserved to be happy after what happened with Pacey. "That's great, Jo!"

"He needs somewhere to stay this weekend and I told him he could stay here."

"That's fine. I can't wait to meet him."

"You already know him."

Bessie lifted an eyebrow. "Really? Is he that Frank guy you introduced me to when I went up there?"

Joey paused and took in a long deep breath. "…it's Pacey…"

Bessie's mouth dropped. She couldn't believe it. Her sister…she couldn't even fathom the possibility. "WHAT!" Bessie screamed.

Joey bit her lip. This was what she was afraid of. "Bess, calm down…"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! What are you thinking?"

"You don't understand…"

"What I understand is that you are dating this boy who crushed you and…"

"I know what he did, Bessie."

"Does he know what he did to you? Have you told him that you cried so many nights? Did you tell him about…"

"No, I haven't told him. He's sorry and we've moved past the summer."

"I'm guessing you haven't told him about how Dawson almost killed you either."

"Why would I!" Joey said a bit louder. "What Dawson did has nothing to do with Pacey."

"It does, Joey. Dawson could have killed you too."

"But he didn't! I'm still here, Bessie and I'm okay. I have one scar and that's it."

Bessie rubbed her head. "Why would you do this, Joey?" she began in a normal tone but got louder with every word. "What could possibly possess you…"

"I love him!" Joey yelled, cutting off Bessie.

Bessie was once again dumbfounded. "What?"

Joey wiped at the few loose tears and stared Bessie down. "I love Pacey. I have never stopped loving him. Even when I wanted to kill him I still loved him. If you saw how he is with me, Bessie, we wouldn't be fighting about him. Pacey cares for me so much."

"So much that he left you heart broken?"

Joey took a deep breath and calmed down. "He made a mistake, Bessie…"

"…Jo…" Bessie tried to cut in but Joey put up a finger and Bessie got quiet.

"It was a mistake and he is sorry. Pacey is a good man and he treats me well. You are eventually going to have to see it. I don't care what you think or say Bessie because Pacey is going to stay here with me this weekend and he is going to celebrate Christmas with us tomorrow and, Bessie, you ARE going to be nice to him. You don't have to talk to him or anything but don't you dare be rude to him. Got it?"

Bessie was fuming. "I should slap you right now."

"Go ahead. As long as you understand."

Bessie gave her sister a dirty look but what could she say? Joey was a stubborn girl and Bessie was just as forward with her father when she first started dating Bodie. "He goes straight upstairs and into your room."

Joey smirked a bit and said, "Okay. Thank you." Joey went and waited by the front door for him.

XXX

While this was all happening, Pacey was having a 'great' time by his family's house. He arrived at the house ten minutes after dropping off Joey, but he didn't go inside for another twenty. Pacey didn't want to face them. It was been seven months since he had been in Capeside and even longer since he last talked to his parents. More over, it was well over a year since he stepped into that small brown house. Pacey, after trying desperately to not become the useless idiot he felt he was in high school, stepped out of his car with the present he bought for his parents. As his long finger pushed in the gray doorbell, Pacey seriously considered spending Christmas Eve in his car with the left-over bad of M&Ms. A small stream of light illuminated his face as the door slowly opened. Too late now.

Pacey's father, better known as Sheriff John Witter around the town, looked at his youngest son with a scowl, something Pacey had become accustomed to. John looked over his son who was wearing dark blue jeans, what appeared to be a white t-shirt under his brown winter coat, his three year old black shoes, and an orange baseball cap on top of his uncut hair. It would seem that, after not seeing your child for months, you would gleefully greet that said child. This wasn't the case for Sheriff John Witter.

John opened the door all the way and moved out of the doorway. "Get in, you're letting the heat go out," John said before walking back to his recliner.

Pacey walked in and closed the door. "Nice to see you too," he said under his breath.

He looked around the house. This was just like every Christmas. The little kids were running around, John was watching sports in his recliner; his siblings were all scrunched into the living room, and his Mother in the kitchen. Pacey made his way to the kitchen and put down his gift on the counter. He smiled at his mother; maybe she would be more welcoming.

"Hi Mom," Pacey said sincerely.

Mrs. Witter turned to her son and smiled. "Pacey…" she began, "…can you tell everyone dinner is done?"

Pacey sighed. No such luck. "Alright," he said before telling everyone about dinner.

He walked back into the kitchen and handed his mother the box. "Merry Christmas."

Mrs. Witter opened the gift and held up the coffee maker. "Thank you," she said before looking to her husband. "John, Pacey gave us a coffee maker!"

John didn't take his eyes off of the TV. "Is there a receipt?"

"Yes," Pacey responded.

"Good. We can take it back," John said with a smirk.

Nothing ever changes.

Dinner was lacking in conversation, as to be expected. Still, Pacey thought that his family would be curious about his long absence. Eventually, that conversation came up, but it took an unexpected turn.

"So, Pacey, where have you been living?" his mother asked over dinner.

Pacey smiled. "I've been living in Boston for about five months now."

"Boston. Good cops there," John put in. "What do you do all day?"

"I work."

"Where?"

"At a restaurant called Civilization. I'm a chef."

John outward snorted with his laugh. Doug rolled his eyes at his father. "Pacey, where do you live?" Doug asked.

Pacey put his eyes to his brother. "I live in an apartment. It's near Civilization and Worthington."

Doug lifted an eyebrow. "Worthington? Doesn't Joey go there?"

"Are you still with Jodie?" Mrs. Witter put in.

"He left her," Doug responded for his brother.

Mrs. Witter sighed. "O, she was a nice girl. Are you dating a new girl?"

Pacey gave a weird look to his brother before looking to his mother. "I dated this Audrey girl for month but I ended things with her."

"Typical," Doug huffed.

Pacey glared at Doug. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Doug rolled his eyes and looked away.

Pacey tried to continue with the conversation. "As I was saying Mom, I was dating Audrey but I'm back with Joey."

"Are you serious?" Doug said loudly.

Pacey, once again, focused on his brother. "What is your problem?"

Doug glared back. "My PROBLEM is that you are intentionally hurting this girl. You keep doing this to Joey. Why couldn't you have just left her alone after what you did in June?"

Pacey was fuming. "That's not fair Doug! You have no idea what happened back then so don't even start."

"No, what's not fair is that you left without telling her!"

The boys were now standing on each side of the table, in their faces. "She was with Dawson that day, Doug! She wanted him."

"You don't know shit, Pacey! Joey went to the docks. She waited for your sorry ass that never showed up. She was there for a while before I found her."

"What are you talking about?" Pacey said lowering his voice.

Doug didn't lower his. "She was a mess, Pacey. Joey wouldn't let anyone get near her and was murmuring about how you didn't love her. She was balling her eyes out while you were sailing! You broke her heart and you're going to do it again."

Pacey sat back down in his chair and his eyes glossed over. What did he do?

XXX

Her eyes lit up and a big smile came to her face. Pacey was back. Joey quickly opened the door before he knocked on it. Pacey's eyes lit up and a big grin came to his face. She was always so beautiful. Before he could get a word in, Joey grabbed his arm and dragged him into her room.

Joey quickly closed the door behind her and smiled at him. "Hey," she whispered before kissing him. Pacey kissed her back and held her close. This didn't last long because Joey began to take off his coat. Pacey followed suit and took off her robe, so she was only in her cami and PJ pants. His shirt came next, leaving only his wife beater on. Pacey stuck his index and middle fingers between her body and her waistband, his gesture to tell her that those were next to come off. It was that small tug that brought Joey into reality and pulled her away from him. Pacey looked at her, still drunk from the kiss.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and lowered her head.

"For what?" he whispered getting close to her.

Joey sat on the bed and looked up to him. "It doesn't feel right."

Pacey smiled at her. "Don't be sorry. I know we haven't…been together for a while."

"It's not just that. This would be the first time since we've gotten back together. I don't want it to be where my family is right down the hall and we have to be quick and quiet so they won't notice. I want it to be just you and me, Pace. No interruptions."

Pacey sat down next to her. "I want you to feel ready when we finally take that step, even if that means I have to wait longer. You mean more to me than sex."

Joey smiled and laid down, taking Pacey with her. She rested in his arms. "Will some cuddling suffice for now?"

Pacey kissed her and rubbed her gently. "More than you know."

XXX

The Christmas party was better than ever. It was held at Jen's house again. Every one was there. Grams, Jack, Jen, Jen's new boyfriend Charlie, the families, Pacey, Joey, and even Andie was there. There was everyone, except for Dawson. Pacey was the only one who didn't know why the blonde was absent, not that he cared though.

Joey was having a ball until she got the very lustrous job of taking out the trash. She made her way down the drive way when a lump was caught in her throat.

"What are you doing here?"

Dawson fixed his eyes on her. He looked crazier than she remembered. The cold stare made her shiver. "It's Christmas, Jo. I came to see my family."

"You know you aren't supposed to be near me, Dawson."

Dawson smirked his evil smirk. "I didn't know you would be outside right now."

Joey took in a breath and began to walk back to the house. Dawson followed her. "Go away," she said through her teeth.

"How have you been?" he asked ignored her comment.

Joey stopped and glared at him, still fearing what he was capable off. "My life is none of your fucking business. If you don't leave now, I'm going to call Doug."

Dawson gave her an angry look before walking back to his house. That was the last straw. She went too far and needed to be taught a lesson.

Meanwhile, Pacey was taken into an empty room by Bessie. He knew he was going to get it now.

"Bess…" he began.

Bessie put up her hand. "Save it, Pacey, I really don't care. I don't understand why you didn't leave her alone…"

"…she means the world to me," Pacey quickly added.

Bessie rolled her eyes. "Like I haven't heard that before."

"It's true."

"I don't care!" Bessie growled. "As much as I HATE the fact that Joey is back with you, I can't stop her." Bessie stuck her finger in Pacey's face. "You listen to me, Witter, if you EVER hurt my sister like that again; I swear to god that I will make the rest of your life a living nightmare. I know people whose specialty is cutting off precious parts. Do you understand me?"

Pacey was a little scared of her right then. "I get it," he said softly.

Bessie smiled. "Good. Don't you dare tell Joey about this. Now go back out there and watch the kids open their gifts."

Pacey walked back into the living room and sat back in his chair. Joey, who had just come back inside, sat back on his lap and smiled at him.

"Where were you?" Joey asked Pacey.

Pacey looked at Bessie who was glaring at him. "Just went to the bathroom," he replied. "You look a little pale. Did you see the ghost of Christmas past?"

Joey chuckled a bit. "Um, I took out the trash and it's a bit cold outside."

Pacey wrapped his arms around her waist and they watched the kids for a while. After a good half hour, Pacey became bored and started to kiss her neck.

Joey smiled at the sensations. "That tickles," she said softly.

Pacey rested his head in the crook of her neck. "I'll stop."

Joey ran a hand in his hair. "You make me happy," she said out of no where.

Pacey smiled. "Joey?"

Joey turned her head so they were facing each other, mere inches apart. "Yeah?"

Pacey smiled. "I love you."

Joey smiled back and said before biting her lip, "I love you too."

Slowly, they came together for a kiss. It was a short and sweet kiss, but changed everything.


	16. Goodbye Frank, Hello

**Possible Short chapter warning! This chapter is really a transition chapter. I've wanted to do this for a while and I never knew where to put it and then Bam! Perfect spot appeared. I hope this chapter will tide you over for a while because I have projects galore, two AP papers, tutoring, job and finals! I know everyone is going to be so mad at me because I probably won't update for, at least, two weeks and the cliffhanger is going to kill you. Sorry! To the story!**

**Oh yeah, I don't own Dawson's Creek or Boston (that would Rock though!)**

**  
**

Beautiful. That was the only way to describe him. Pacey Witter was a beautiful man. He was no longer a boy stumbling into adulthood, he was a man. He had a more chiseled face with every passing day. His lips were small and burly, while still sensual. His legs had become strong and shapely, no longer the awkward legs of a child. His torso curved with every muscle. His muscles were not protruding, like most first entering adulthood; his were soft and strong all at the same time. His hands. Oh, did he have marvelous hands! They were long and slim. They had fierce strength but he used them with an air of eloquence. Never were his touches tough, but, moreover, sweet. All of the features proved that this beautiful creature was finally a man; all except for his eyes. What amazing eyes Pacey Witter had! His eyes were a breath- taking blue with a hint of green. It is said that the soul can be seen through the eyes. His eyes made this so true. As hard as he tried, his feelings were easily read through the ocean colored orbs. When he was happy, those eyes lit up and became a baby blue. When anger hit the young man, the blue darkened and the green became more vibrant in the slightly squinting eyes. The most noticeable was sadness. Those once beautiful orbs darkened to a deep grayish blue. There was no more sparkle. His eyes glossed over as if to condemn you for causing pain. Still, those amazing eyes always had the essence of a child in them. Upon noticing, they always brought a smile. He was mesmerizing.

That was why she loved him. It had been only a short time they had been together but she had fallen hard. Her heart had expanded and he was all she could think about.

It didn't matter to him and it never would.

It was only a matter of time.

_**XXX**_

It was a snowy day in Boston. Gentle snow flakes flew around in the breeze. Joey was clinging tight onto the textbook in her arms. It was transition time and she was trying to make her way to her next class. Joey didn't expect to see her during this time.

"Hey, Joey. Funny seeing you here," Audrey said with a little laugh as she walked next to the brunette.

Joey did not want to talk but whatever. "I do go to Worthington, Audrey."

"I know I just never see you around. So, how are things?"

"Great. I'm happy that I'm with Pacey. You did know that Pacey and I are dating right?" Joey said with a small smirk.

Audrey nodded. "How are things with him going?"

Joey smiled a coy smile. "We're in love so everything is amazing."

"Umm hmm," Audrey said to brush off the comment. "What did you do last night?"

"What do you mean?"

Audrey smirked. "Well, you must have been pretty bored with Pacey not around."

Joey lifted an eyebrow. "How did you know he wasn't with me last night?"

Audrey laughed her dry laugh. "Obviously Pacey couldn't have been with both of us last night."

Joey stopped walking and looked at her. "Pacey was with you last night?"

Audrey put a hand on her mouth, trying unsuccessfully to hide the smirk. "He didn't tell you?"

Joey chuckled and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Obviously not."

"Pacey and I went out to dinner. It was pretty late but we were together for a good hour- hour and a half."

"It was just you two?"

"Of course."

Joey nodded slowly. "What a…what did you two do?"

Audrey smiled. "Um, talked and what not."

"Hmm," Joey said. "I'm going to go, Audrey." With that, Joey left.

She held onto her book a little tighter.

_**XXX**_

The doorbell rang. Pacey walked from the couch to the door with a smile on his face.

"Always on time," he said as he opened the door. A very ticked off Joey stood on the other side.

Pacey moved out of the door way and Joey walked in. "Have a good day?" Pacey said sarcastically as he closed the door.

"Where were you last night?" Joey said crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"I told you I was working," Pacey replied facing her.

"And after work? What did you do?" she said with a sneer.

Pacey's eyes got a bit wider. "Um, I went to dinner with a friend of mine."

"Who was the friend?"

Pacey rolled his eyes. "What's with the interrogation?"

Joey shook her head a little. "I know you went out with Audrey."

"Joey…" Pacey said as he reached for her.

Joey moved away. "Why didn't you tell me, Pacey?" she said in a slight yell.

"This is why!" he said in the same tone. "I knew you would react this way so…"

"So what, Pacey? So you decided to go out to dinner with your ex- girlfriend and not tell me about it?"

"We just had dinner, Joey."

She huffed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" he said walking around. "Jo, it was late and we were both hungry so we just got a couple of burgers. We were only together 30 minutes tops. That's all that happened."

"Audrey said you were with her for an hour or so."

"She's lying! I swear it was less than a half hour."

Joey looked down to the floor. "Okay. I believe you, but why wouldn't you tell me?"

Pacey moved in again. "Jo…"

Joey put up her hands. "Don't, Pacey."

Pacey chuckled. "It's really not big of a deal."

Joey looked him in the eyes and chuckled herself. "Not that big of a deal? Okay, its not. Since its okay that you see Audrey then I guess it's fine that I see Frank."

Pacey's face turned hard. "That's not the same."

"Yes it is!"

"No its not! Frank still wants you."

"As opposed to Audrey who flirts with you every time she sees you!"

"I'm sorry. I've been trying to tell you this the whole time. I won't ever talk to Audrey again if you I want. I just don't want you to go out with Frank."

"I didn't want you to go out with Audrey. You knew that too, Pacey. I've told you, on numerous occasions, how uncomfortable she makes me feel and yet you jumped at the opportunity for you to go out and play. I'm going to go out with frank tonight, Pacey, and you can't stop me."

Joey had walked past him and left.

_**XXX**_

Frank played with the straw in his drink and stared at Joey with a smile. Joey, who had been looking at her food, finally noticed the staring.

"Do I have food on my face?" she said wiping her mouth.

Frank laughed. "No, I'm just really glad you wanted to come out with me tonight."

Joey smiled back. "I'm glad I came."

"This is the last time I get to see you."

Joey lifted an eyebrow. "Why? Did you quit Civilization?"

Frank scrunched up his face. "Uh, sort of. I'm moving back to LA tomorrow."

"Oh no. how come?"

"I don't know. I need a change I guess. I love Bradley and everything but I just don't have a reason to stay in Boston," with that, he looked at her.

Joey broke the eye contact. "I need to be getting back. Early day tomorrow."

Frank nodded. "Okay, let's get out of here."

The drive from the restaurant to the campus was a short one. Frank pulled over to the curb.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to your dorm?" Frank asked.

Joey shook her head. "I'm not that far in from the entrance. I feel like walking anyway."

Frank nodded. "I guess I'll see ya…maybe."

Joey smiled. "I'm going to miss you, Frank."

Frank smiled. "One more thing…"

Joey looked at him. "Yeah?"

Before she could move, Frank placed his lips on hers and kissed her. The kiss was short and Joey just looked at him afterwards.

"I always wanted to know what it would be like to kiss you," Frank said in a soft tone.

Joey gave a small smirk. "Goodbye, Frank," she said before leaving the car.

Once Frank drive away, Joey headed away from the campus instead of into it.

_**XXX**_

Second time the doorbell rang that day. Pacey really didn't like that noise. Who he found on the other side surprised him. "Jo?"

Joey was looking straight at him. "Hey, Pace. Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure, come on in," Pacey said letting her in.

"Thanks." Joey walked in and just locked her eyes with his.

Pacey didn't know what to say. Lucky for him, he didn't need to speak first.

"I'm sorry about today, Pacey. I over reacted about Audrey and I shouldn't have tried to get back at you by going out with Frank. It was wrong of me." She took a deep breath. "There's something you should know."

Pacey sat down on the arm of his couch. "Go ahead," was all he said.

Joey began pacing the floor. "See, Frank and I went out to dinner. We were talking and everything was going great. Then Frank tells me that he is going back to LA tomorrow. I ask him why and he said because he doesn't have a reason to stay in Boston. I felt uncomfortable so I told him that I needed to go back to my dorm. Well, Frank pulled up to the side of Worthington entrance and the next thing I know, he kissed me…"

Pacey put up a hand to stop her. "Wait, He kissed you?"

Joey stopped Pacing and looked at him. "Yeah, he did. It was really short and I left right away. Are you mad at me?"

Pacey took in a deep breath and shook his head. "No, I'm not mad at you."

Joey tilted her head. "You sure?"

Pacey smirked and opened up his arms so he could hold her. He gave Joey a smile when he was holding her. "I'm sure. I'm glad that you told me about it."

Joey smiled. "I love you so much."

"I love you more," he teased before kissing her.

Joey never wanted to stop kissing him but she had to. "Pace, I need to go."

Pacey whined. "Alright. Do you want me to drive you?"

"No, I want to walk."

"Jo…"

"I'll be fine, Sweetie."

Pacey walked with Joey to the door. "Call me when you get to your dorm, okay?"

"Okay, I promise." Joey kissed him again. "Love you, Pacey. Goodbye."

Pacey watched her walk down the street. He didn't like it when she walked by herself.

_**XXX**_

Joey was about to enter her dorm house when she heard it.

"Hello."

Joey turned around and looked at the person who spoke.

The dish water blonde hair.

The piercing green eyes.

That devilish smirk.

Joey shook her head in Disbelief.

"Dawson?"


	17. The Hour of Dawson

**First, there's a lot of swearing and other things in this chapter so I'm warning you. I'm sorry but Yes, Dawson is back…but only for this chapter. I know I said that he was never going to come back but I changed my mind again. I PROMISE that this is the last that he will come up in person…for a while. : ) This chapter is mainly Dawson and Joey. There will be bits and pieces of Pacey but he really doesn't come into play until the end. Dawson is always great to stir up some trouble. Evil grin **

Joey couldn't believe her eyes. Dawson couldn't be right in front of her. He wasn't supposed to be around her…ever. She was going crazy. Joey Potter finally went nuts. It must be some other blonde man. Maybe there is no one there at all. Joey did have nightmares about him before so maybe this wasn't any different. Joey wiped at her eyes.

Dawson stood in front of her, in his long gray trench coat, staring her down with piercing eyes. He had a smile on. Dawson extended his hands out that were deep in his pockets and said, "The one and only."

Joey caught her breath and put a hand up to her mouth. "Oh my god," she muttered.

His smile slowly faded into a frown and his eyes went through her. "You don't sound that happy to see me," Dawson said with a fired up tone.

Joey tried to steady her breathing but it wouldn't steady. "Dawson, you're not supposed to be here. I have a restraining order against you. That means…"

"I know what that means, Joey. I'm not an idiot," Dawson said rolling his eyes.

Joey tried to act like she wasn't afraid of him. "If you don't go, I'm calling the cops."

Dawson laughed. "I'm not leaving and you're not calling the cops."

"Just try and stop me," Joey said before turning back to the dorm house. She took one step before she heard the soft click. Slowly, Joey turned around to see Dawson with a hand gun pointed at her.

"I think this will be enough to stop you," Dawson said referring to the gun.

Joey put her hands in front of her body. "Dawson, put the gun down. I won't call the police if you just put it away."

Dawson smiled. "Joey, have you ever seen Saving Private Ryan? It's a great film. See, in the middle of the film, there is this huge fight scene. Things are exploding and people are dying. It is actually a little too gory for my taste. There is this soldier who drops his gun and runs head first into the battle, leaving himself vulnerable. Can you guess what happens? He gets shot down."

Joey shook her head. "This isn't the movie, Dawson."

"Same situation."

"No, it's not. This isn't a battle."

Dawson gripped the gun a bit tighter. "I meant the general scenario, Joey!"

Joey stood straight. "Okay, Dawson, You're right. Please don't get angry."

Dawson shook his head, laughed and smiled. "Sorry, Joey. I guess being shunned by the girl I love has made me a bit…bitter."

Joey could feel the tears threatening to fall.

A gust of wind blew in and Dawson got chilly. "Let's go up to your room. I'm getting a bit cold," he said before jamming the gun into her back. "Don't try anything."

Joey nodded and walked into the dorm house, Dawson close at her heels. She signed in and went into the elevator to go to her floor. Joey felt her hand shaking but she got it to stop. Once Dawson was in the dorm with Joey, he had her…alone.

XXX

Pacey looked at the clock. Joey left thirty- five minutes ago. It usually took her around fifteen minutes to get back to the dorm. Sometimes she would forget and he would end up calling her. This seemed like the case. Pacey smiled and shook his head as he begun to dial her number. After four rings her voicemail picked up.

_Hey, you're reached Joey Potter. If you want me then leave a message after the beep. If you want someone else, just hang up now so then I won't get a long beeping message because of a hang up. Thanks._

Pacey chuckled before the beep. "Jo, it's me; Pacey. I'm calling because you haven't called me back yet. I just want to know if you got to your dorm alright. Give me a call when you get this. Love ya, Bye."

With that, Pacey hung up.

XXX

Meanwhile…

Joey unlocked her door, turned on the light and walked in. She put her keys down on the side table and slowly turned back to the door. Dawson quickly went in and locked the door behind him. He turned to her and smiled.

The evil smile.

The smile always haunted Joey and always would. The way his lips would curl up on the ends but only far enough to reveal his top teeth. How his head would droop so he had to look through his dark think eyebrows. The worst part was his eyes. Those green eyes could pierce through thick black darkness.

Who was this man? This couldn't be Dawson. Dawson Leery was her best friend as a child. He was the boy who taught her about aliens who enjoyed Reese's pieces and a certain list from World War II. This was the man who became her first real boyfriend. He was her first love. No, this wasn't the same Dawson Leery who used to be a hopeless romantic: this was a monster.

"Joey, take off your coat and stay a while," Dawson said in the same position.

Joey put her arms around her and tried to smirk. "I'm actually a bit cold," she said in her standing position.

Dawson pointed the gun at her. "Take off your coat and sit on the bed," he said in a slow and low voice.

Joey felt her body stiffen. Slowly, she slipped off her coat and sat on the edge of the bed.

Dawson leaned back against her dresser and stared at her. He didn't even blink. Joey couldn't look at him. She turned her head down and looked at the ground.

Dawson chuckled and then looked his gun up and down. "You look scared. Do I scare you or is it just the gun?" He said in an even tone.

Joey kept her head down. "Both," she said softly.

Before Dawson could say anything else, Joey's cell phone went off. She quickly looked to her purse. Dawson followed her eyes and went to the table. He went through her purse and found the phone. It stopped ringing. He flipped it open and read the caller ID.

Dawson's head quickly jerked to Joey on the bed. "Are you seeing Pacey again?" he asked in a short tone.

Joey took in her breath. She could tell that Dawson was becoming even angrier because of the call.

Dawson kept staring at her. He slowly made his way back to the bed. "I asked you a question, Joey." He was losing his temper.

Joey tightened her closed eyes and felt the hot tears running down her face.

That was it. Dawson grabbed Joey by the neck so her head would lift up. He could feel her breath slowing down and he liked the power. Slowly and through his teeth he said, "I'm going to ask you one more time, Joey. Are you, or are you not, with Pacey?"

Joey could feel the pressure in her throat. Every second, Dawson's grip became a little bit tighter. She sucked back her tongue to try and catch some air. "Yes," she whispered. Joey knew that if she lied, Dawson would probably kill her.

Dawson didn't let her throat go right away. He wanted to squeeze her neck until she went limp. He gave her neck a big squeeze, cutting off all the air, but released her quickly. As soon as his hand moved, Joey gasped for air and grabbed her throat. Dawson began pacing around. He shook his head uncontrollably.

"I don't understand, Joey. Why would you go back to Pacey? He didn't want you. Pacey didn't even fight for you. I wanted you. That's why I did it," he said pacing around.

Joey looked at him. "Did what, Dawson?" she asked fearing the worst.

Dawson looked at her and got on his knees in front of her. "Joey, you need to understand. I did it for us. We were supposed to be together forever. We were doing just that until Pacey came back. He was coming between us again and I couldn't let that happen."

Joey stared at this man through her tears. "What did you, Dawson? DAMN IT, TELL ME WHAT YOU DID!"

Dawson placed his hands on her knees. "I told Pacey that we were back together the day you were supposed to leave with him. He called you but Bessie said that you were by my house. See, Joey, we were meant to be. Look at all of the signs. This is how it should be."

Joey pushed his hands off her. "I can't believe you! You're the reason he left me. Pacey still loved me but you got to him."

"No! He would have left you even if I wouldn't have said that. He didn't want you. You're only an object to him."

Joey shook her head a little. Her courage was growing. "No, Dawson, he loves me. It's you that doesn't care about me. I'm NOT your prize!"

Dawson placed the gun next to her hip. "Joey, I love you."

"So much so that you tried to kill me…twice!"

"I told you that I just got angry. I didn't mean to hurt you on the docks last summer. It really wasn't that bad."

Joey became angry. How could this murderer say such a thing! "Not that bad! Let me refresh your memory, Dawson."

_Joey walked along the docks. It was a warm day in August. Soon, she would be leaving for Worthington; even though her stay wouldn't be long. It was two months to the day that Pacey left. She didn't want to admit it, but she still loved him. It was hard to fall out of love with someone when you see their brother everyday. _

_Doug had come everyday at his lunch break to see how Joey was doing. His visits were nice but, in reality, hurt Joey more than helped._

_They had the same smile._

_Doug would meet Joey at the docks everyday. They would sit on the bench next to the double docks and watch the water. He would look at Joey and smile his bitter- sweet smile before asking how things were going in there. Joey would smirk back with sad eyes, remembering that smile on another face, and replied that everything was going great. They would sit and talk for the hour before he would stand to get back to work. She would look at him and ask if HE had called yet. Doug would take notice of the sadness mixed with hope in her brown eyes before replying, "Not yet," and walked away._

_That day, Joey stood near the edge of the top deck and watched a white sailboat pass. How she wished that the summer was just a dream and Pacey would be waiting for her when she woke up. _

_It wasn't a dream._

_Pacey was gone and he wasn't coming back._

_As she watched the sailboat float away, he walked up. "Hey Joey."_

_Joey turned to him and gave a small smile. "Hi Dawson."_

_Dawson looked to her as the wind blew. "I haven't seen you around lately."_

"_I'm sorry about that. This summer isn't turning out to be a good one," she said with a sigh._

"_Will you be okay?"_

_Joey chuckled lightly. "That's the million dollar question. Does anyone know if things are going to be okay? I don't think we're supposed to know. All we can do is live day by day, hour by hour, and hope that things will be okay."_

_Dawson grabbed her wrist and stroked it with his thumb. "I want to help you. I'm here for you, Joey… always."_

_Joey wanted to cry about her pain like she did when she was younger but she couldn't. They hadn't spoken in months and they didn't know anything about each other any more. "You can't help me, Dawson."_

_Dawson held to her wrist a little tighter. "Let me try."_

"_This is something that I need to help myself with. I need to do this alone."_

"_I can make it better, Joey. I know I can," he said digging his thumb into her skin._

_Joey tried to pull away but he wouldn't let go. "Dawson, stop. That hurts."_

_The words didn't even faze him. He kept staring at her. "I miss you, Joey. I know that I hurt you and I'm sorry. I want you to be my girlfriend again. I'll be better this time. You deserve someone like me, not someone who'll leave you. I love you so let me be with you."_

_Joey struggled to get away. Dawson came in for a kiss when Joey slapped him with her free hand. "I don't love you, Dawson," she said coldly._

_Dawson got a hold of her other wrist and held it tight as well. His face became red and his breathing came in long breaths. They connected eyes and Joey had gotten scared. Slowly, Dawson pushed her up to the edge._

_Joey tried to stop but he was too strong. "Dawson, Stop!" she yelled._

_Dawson stopped moving when she was on the very edge of the deck. He let go of one wrist so she could see the big fall to the lower deck._

"_Goodbye, Joey."_

_Quickly, he gave a hard push. Joey fell over the edge face down onto the lower deck. A few seconds later she opened her eyes and sat up. Dawson was gone. She felt some blood trickling down her head and her wrist hurt a lot. She didn't care about this. It was the unbearable cramps in her stomach that made her cry._

Dawson smiled as she finished the story. "But you were fine. No harm done."

Joey tightened her fists. "I was pregnant!" she yelled.

Dawson's mouth fell open and he could only shake his head.

"You bastard killed my child! Pacey didn't even know yet that he was going to be a father…"

Before Joey could say anything else, Dawson slapped her hard on the face and put the gun to her head. "You little bitch. I should blow your fucking head off!"

"Go ahead!" Joey cried. "I don't care anymore!"

Dawson began crying himself. "Why would you let yourself get pregnant by him, Joey? I'm supposed to be the father of your children! You were supposed to get pregnant by me, not Him!"

"It's too late now so just pull the trigger!" Joey screamed as she kept the gun to her head.

Dawson wiped his tears and dropped the gun next to her bed. "I have a better idea."

Dawson threw himself onto Joey. He ripped open her shirt. Joey pounded on his chest to make him stop but he kept going. Dawson undid her pants and pulled them off along with her panties. He reached down and began to free himself from his pants. Joey got hold of the gun and fired it but Dawson grabbed it and slapped her. He snagged into her wrists and held her arms above her head.

"You're always going to remember me," Dawson said before thrusting into her.

XXX

Pacey pulled up next to her dormitory. He jumped out of his car and ran inside. His cell phone was on his ear because he was calling Joey for the umpteenth time. He rushed to the desk.

"Can I help you?" the security guard said slowly.

"I need to know if Joey Potter checked in yet," Pacey asked as calmly as he could.

This was so unlike her. Even though she would sometimes forget to call him right away, Joey never waited this long. After 50 minutes, Pacey knew something had to be wrong.

"She did," the guard replied.

Pacey nodded and ran to the elevators. The guard behind the desk got up and went to Pacey. "Sir, you can't go up there after hours. I'll need to escort you."

The two waited for an elevator. Some girls were screaming in the stairwell. Both men looked to it. A few girls ran past but one stopped to talk to the security guard.

"You need to help us!" she said frantically. "A gun went off on my floor."

"What floor?" Pacey said stopping his breathing.

"Third," she replied.

That was Joey's floor. The guard called for back up but Pacey ran up the stairs. He didn't wait for the elevators.

On her floor, Pacey bolted to Joey's room and turned the knob.

Locked.

He began to bang on the door. "Jo! Joey, are you okay?"

Joey took her focus off of what was being done to her and looked at the door. "Pacey! Help!"

Dawson removed himself from her and put back together his clothes. "It's about time," Dawson said picking up the gun.

Joey scrunched her self but kept on throwing things at Dawson to stop him. "Pacey! Dawson has a…"

Dawson opened the door and held the gun to Pacey. "I have a gun," he said with a smirk.

Pacey backed up but looked into the room to see a frightened Joey. "You better not have hurt her because I swear I'll…"

"You'll what? Kill me?" Dawson said growing his smirk. "It looks like I'll be the one killing you, Pacey. Tell me, how does it feel knowing that you're about to die?"

"What did you do to, Joey!" Pacey demanded. She was his only concern.

"Nothing that was rightfully mine," Dawson replied.

The security guard came behind Pacey and pointed his gun at Dawson. "Put the gun Down!" he yelled.

Dawson shifted his eyes between the guard and Pacey. "Shoot me. I'll kill him before you're sorry ass aim even hits a wall."

Dawson pulled back the safety.

The gun went off.

He fell to the floor and into his own blood.

Joey screeched.

The guard stood over him. "You should have dropped the gun," he said to Dawson who was holding his arm wound.

Pacey ran over to Joey and held her in his arms. She began to cry.

"Don't cry, Baby. I'm here," he said soothing her.

"I thought he was going to kill you, Pacey," she cried.

Pacey kissed her forehead and began soothing her again. "I'm never going to leave you, baby. I promise."

They just sat on the floor, wrapped in each others arms, as Dawson was taken away.


	18. After shock

**I need to apologize for this long break. I have been incredibly busy so I haven't even had time to think about writing. My last chapter seemed to be very well liked so that also pushed me off as well. How can I compete with that chapter? Anyway, I'm writing again. Yay! Guys, I know that everyone likes this story but it's coming to an end. A few more chapters and that's it. I've run out of ideas so I'm just going to work with what I have and call it a day. Let's not think about that now. Let's talk about this chapter. :) So, Dawson came back and caused a big ol' mess. He was shot and Joey was raped. This chapter mainly focuses on what happens afterwards. Oh yeah, It's like February already in the story. I swear I'll update quicker next time. On to the story…**

She was all alone again. The steel table below was cold against her bare skin. The man assigned to the case, Officer Caminsco, put her into the room a half-hour ago but she had been at the station for the past few hours. Pacey stood next to the door and kept his eyes on Joey through the small window.

"How long is she going to be in there?" Pacey asked the approaching Officer Caminsco.

Caminsco squinted his friendly hazel eyes. "Only a few more minutes," he replied. "I need to take you into the next room for questioning."

Pacey turned to him and gave him a blank stare. "Me? Why do I need to be questioned? What about Joey? I'm not leaving her alone."

Caminsco smiled and put a hand on Pacey's back as he lead him into the other room. "Don't worry, Mr. Witter. We just want to know what you know and Ms. Potter will join us when she's ready."

XXX

Pacey couldn't concentrate. He wanted to look beyond that bright yellow light and into the face of Officer Caminsco. He tried hard to but his thoughts kept going back to Joey. Pacey knew he shouldn't blame himself but he felt it was his fault about Dawson. If only he would have made Joey let him drive her home or if only he told Joey to stay over then maybe none of that would have happened. Where he went wrong kept playing in his mind like a bad record. The sound of a paper cup hitting the metal table brought Pacey back into reality.

"Are you okay, Mr. Witter?" Caminsco asked not liking the face on the kid in front of him.

Pacey nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Please, call me Pacey. Is Joey going to be in here soon?"

"She'll be in here soon, Pacey. Let me just ask you a few questions while we wait."

Pacey took a deep breath and sat back. His blue eyes had become the empty color of ice with a soft hint of blue. He was torn up inside and he looked it.

Caminsco was pained every time he received a case like this. The pain in the faces of the victims those who love them sometimes became unbearable. This case was no different. Caminsco took a deep breath as well before he started speaking.

"Pacey, do you know Dawson Leery?"

Fire sparked in the young man's eyes. "I know the ass," he simply replied.

"How so?"

Pacey grew a disgusted face. "He and I go way back. We were best friends from the time we were eight until about two years ago. We haven't been friends since Joey and I first started over a year ago senior year in high school."

"Did Dawson have a problem with you being with Joey?"

"I would say he did. Joey was still dating Dawson at first when we got together."

Caminsco lifted an eyebrow. "So Joey was cheating on him with you?"

Pacey nodded.

Caminsco picked up a pencil on the table and wrote some things down on the pad of paper in front of him.

This made Pacey curious. "What are you writing?" he asked.

Caminsco smiled and stopped writing. "Just some notes that might prove useful towards you case. Now, Pacey, did Joey and Dawson's relationship seem like a close one?"

Pacey shook his head and chuckled. "Quite the opposite. Dawson had been sleeping with another girl right after they had begun dating that spring. Joey knew about it so they kept their distance."

Caminsco began writing again. "When did Dawson first learn about your relationship with Joey?"

"Joey would remember better than me," Pacey replied.

As soon as Pacey said that, the door opened and Joey walked in with Karen the social worker behind her. Joey's hair was a mess. It was still tangled from being held down by Dawson. The black around her eyelids from her running makeup was gone but it was replaced with red. She had been crying. Her tears had finally stopped but Joey still hung her head lower than usual. As soon as Pacey saw her, he flung out of his seat and took her in his arms. She was tense. Joey's breathing became choppy and she shifted away slightly. Pacey let her go and just stared at her. She stared back with a sad face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Pacey could feel the tears forming in his eyes. He said it was okay even though it wasn't, and wouldn't be for a while. Pacey wanted to hold Joey tight in his arms and make all the pains go away but he couldn't do that.

She was afraid of him.

Pacey could only move back to his seat while Joey sat in hers. He was helpless to her now and everyone knew it. That was why they gave him a sad smile. It pained Joey as well. She didn't want to feel like this. Pacey was not the one who raped her. He didn't hurt her and he never tried to. Still, she jerked. Joey used to embrace him with as much love as he embraced her; but now she jerked at his touch. She wanted to hug him, she wanted to kiss him. All she could offer was her hand to hold. Even as he stroked her hand lovingly with his thumb, Joey had to fight the urge to pull away. They both needed this small contact.

Karen the social worker told Joey that she would be asked some difficult questions but she needed to answer them. Joey still could stop when she needed to. Caminsco tried to give the young woman in front of him a smile but it seemed useless.

"Joey, I have been getting some information from Pacey but we're at a road block. If you're not ready for some of these questions then just tell me to stop and we will okay?"

Joey nodded slowly.

Caminsco picked up his pencil. "Joey, when did Dawson first find out about the affair you were having with Pacey?"

Joey felt a sting at the mention of his name. She had to fight through it. She wouldn't let him take her over again. "Last January. Pacey and I had just come back from a weekend trip at Harvard when I found out Dawson was in a car accident. I went to go see him when he confronted me about Pacey. I told him that I knew about Bethany, she was the girl he was having an affair with, and we broke up. He wanted to try and work things out but I told him I wanted to be with Pacey." Pacey gave her hand a squeeze.

"Did Dawson try other times to reconcile?"

"Yes, but each time I told him I did not want to be with him or that I wanted Pacey."

"Okay, Okay," Caminsco said softly as he wrote. He looked back up at her. "Has Dawson been in contact with you before tonight?"

Joey froze up and nodded a bit. "Yes. I went home to Capeside, Massachusetts for Christmas. I was at a party by Jennifer Lindley's house and I went to take out the trash. That's when I saw Dawson. I told him he needed to leave me alone but he followed me. I threatened to call the police if he didn't leave me alone but he gave me this…glare, and left. I should have called the police about the restraining order."

Pacey didn't look at Joey but furrowed his eyebrows. It was obvious that he didn't know about the order.

Caminsco picked up a piece of paper from a file on the table. "I have the order right here but it doesn't give a detailed description as to why you put the order against him. Can you tell me why?"

Joey swallowed hard. She didn't want to relive this. Joey looked from Caminsco to Karen, but made sure she didn't look at Pacey. She didn't want to see his face as she told this tale. A tear ran down Joey's face. "Um…it was early this past August. I was waiting for Deputy Doug Witter on the docks like I always did. Before Doug got there…um…Dawson showed up. He wasn't acting strange at first. He told me he wanted to help me but I told him he couldn't. Dawson grabbed my wrist and started professing his love for me and tried to kiss me. I slapped him. Dawson got upset and he…" the tears began to flow down, "…pushed me over the edge and onto the lower deck."

Caminsco didn't even write. He was too disgusted by the male who would hurt this poor girl so many times…and intentionally. "Did he hurt you?"

Joey nodded through her tears. "Umm, hmm. I went to the hospital and I needed surgery."

"What was the surgery for, Hun?"

Joey quickly looked at Pacey but looked down. "They had to remove my baby," she said barely above a whisper.

Pacey looked at Joey with his mouth open. Tears had finally fallen and he didn't even bother to wipe at them. "Jo, you were pregnant? He killed our baby? That son of a bitch. I can't believe he killed our baby."

So much pain this couple had to go through. All because of one man. Caminsco's phone went off. "Okay, we'll be right there," Caminsco said into his phone before he hung up. "We're done here. Joey, your sister is here so you two can go."

Pacey and Joey walked out of the room hand in hand. As soon as Joey saw Bessie, she let go of Pacey and hugged her sister. For some reason she didn't jerk with Bessie.

"Oh Joey! Everything is going to be okay. I'm here now," Bessie said as she cried with her sister.

Pacey stood behind the two and watched.

XXX

Pacey sat at his kitchen table, running his fingers up and down his glass. He was lost in space but the click from his bedroom door closing brought him back.

Bessie walked over to the table and sat down. "She's asleep now," she said softly.

Pacey nodded. "Good," he replied. He looked up at Bessie with tears in his eyes. "I didn't even know that Joey was pregnant before he killed our baby, Bessie. I was going to be a father. It's all my fault."

Bessie held his hand. "Don't blame yourself, Pacey. You did nothing wrong."

Some tears fell from his whitened orbs. Yes I did. If I would have not been so stupid and realized that Dawson was lying about Joey then I would have stayed then our child would be alive right now."

"What did Dawson say to you?"

"He told me that Joey and he were back together. I didn't believe it at first but when I called your house and you said that Joey was at his house, I believed him. I was so stupid."

"Is that the reason you left her? Because of Dawson?"

Pacey wiped at the tears. "I loved her, Bessie. Joey was everything to me and she still is. I'm lost without her. I never meant to hurt her."

Bessie stood up and took Pacey into a hug. She tried to sooth him and Pacey tried to calm down but the tears kept coming. "She jerks whenever I touch her, Bessie. Joey could only hold my hand and even then I could tell she was fighting the urge to pull away. I don't want her to be afraid of me," Pacey said as Bessie stroked his head.

"Pacey," Bessie began, "Joey was just raped and she's still frightened. She's not afraid of you, she's afraid of males right now. It's been a traumatic experience for all of us and it's not going to get better any time soon. Joey needs to get some help, Pacey. I know this place right here in Boston that helps with Women who have just been raped. It's a month long program and I think that she will really benefit from this. She has already agreed to this. What do you think?"

Pacey, who just gained composure, sat up straight and nodded to Bessie. "I want all of this to go away. I just want Joey to be okay."

XXX

**3 days later…**

Pacey was the last to say goodbye to Joey. They stood hand in hand in front of the clinic and looked at each other. Both exchanged sad glances. Joey was still pale and her eyes had become a darker brown. Pacey's eyes were still ice color. Joey tried to give her famous half smile unsuccessfully and a tear drop, causing Joey to wipe her face.

"I'm going to be okay, Pacey. I promise things will get better. I'm so sorry," Joey softly said.

Pacey could feel his heart breaking into a million pieces. "You don't have anything to be sorry about, Joey. You just try and feel better. Don't even worry about me. When you get out of here I'll be waiting."

"I'm going to call you everyday," she said.

"Anytime you want," he replied.

Joey let go of Pacey's hands. She put her hands on his face and kissed him. She didn't even jerk. "I love you, Pacey," Joey whispered.

"I love you too, baby," Pacey whispered back.

Joey gave him one last soft kiss before going into the building.

It would be a month until Pacey could see Joey again.


	19. Nothing Heals Me Like You Do

**Just a reminder, I don't own anything :). **

It there was still two days until she was out. Two days until she was allowed to be outside in the March spring weather. Two days until she would be free from these group and individual therapy sessions. Most of all…

Two days until Pacey.

Joey was lying down on her bed when her roommate, Marci, came back from her session.

"Boy, I'm beat," Marci said as she plopped onto her bed.

"Your session ran long today," Joey said staring up at her ceiling.

"I know. You'd think that they'd realize that after a few weeks, we girls are talked out about our 'feelings.'"

Joey took a deep breath and sat up. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed and looked at her roommate. "How do you do it, Marci?"

Marci turned her head towards Joey. "Do what?"

"This; all of it. I can barely deal with my one raping and month in here but you, this is your third time. I never see you without a smile. How do you do it?"

Marci shrugged her shoulders. "Experience I guess. You better get going to your group session before you're late."

Joey stood up. "I'll see you later, Marci."

_**XXX**_

Angie, the "active" therapist, stood her six feet at the front of the small circle formed by the girls. Her blonde hair was in a tight bun that went around her thin glasses. Angie would seem intimidating to most people but she wasn't: she was the nicest worker here. Angie was called the "active" therapist because she liked "activities."

"We're going to try another partner activity," Angie said with a tiny smile. "Everyone get a partner please."

All of the girls partnered up. Joey ended up with another stranger.

Angie nodded. "Now this is going to be a difficult activity so if anyone needs to stop, then they just tell their partner. I want the girls on the left to reach over and gently put their hands on the shoulders of their partners."

The girls did as they were told. Joey placed her hands on her partner. A lot of the girls who were on the right reacted well to being touched. Some flinched but were able to be okay without pulling away. The girls had to run their hands down their partners arm and then remove them. The first part of the activity went well.

"Good job girls," Angie said. "This activity prepares you for when you leave here. People will want to hug you and, if you're in a romantic relationship, most likely touch you. I just want to make sure that you've already been exposed to the feel of another. Now, let's switch sides. Ladies on the right, please do what your partner did to you."

Joey watched as her partners hands slowly rested upon her shoulders. Joey winced and closed her eyes tightly. She could feel her body stiffening up again. Her breathing became short. As her partner moved her hands lower, she got stiffer. As soon as her partner reached the end of her T-shirt sleeves and touched her skin, Joey lost it.

"Stop! Please stop!" Joey cried out as tears fell from her closed eyes.

Angie ran over to Joey and tried to calm her. "Joey, it's okay. Open your eyes."

Joey opened her eyes and saw everyone looking at her. She quickly wiped at her face.

"Are you okay?" Angie asked in a soft tone, making sure to calm her without touching.

Joey nodded as she kept wiping.

Angie left her eyes on Joey. "Ladies, the session is done for today. I'll see you all tomorrow."

The girls left. They took one last long stare at Joey before leaving the room. Angie took a nearby chair and sat in it. She just looked at Joey for a few seconds until Joey fully controlled her self.

"What did you feel right now, Joey?" Angie asked in her therapist voice.

Joey smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'll be okay, Angie. I'm out of here in two days so I'm cool. I'll talk to you tomorrow," Joey said before standing up and walking away.

"You might not be," Angie responded standing up herself.

Joey stopped walking and turned back to Angie. "What do you mean by that?"

"Joey, you have responded to all of the activities like this that involve some sort of physical contact with someone else. You've changed so much from the fragile woman you were when you first came here a month ago. In this, though, you haven't advanced at all. In fact, you may have gotten worse. I don't want to keep you here longer, Joey, but unless you start telling me how you feel and you are able to handle minimal physical contact, I can't let you leave. So please, sit down and let me help you."

Joey walked back to her chair and scowled at her. "What do you want to know?" Joey asked meanly.

"Why do you respond like that? What do you feel when someone touches you?"

Joey took a shallow breath. "I guess…I feel small. I feel like I'm going to get hurt and I get scared. I want to scream every time someone touches me."

"Do you picture the man who raped you when someone touches you?"

"…Yeah. Dawson hurt me so badly that I see his face when I feel someone on me."

Angie nodded. "Joey, I'm going to do the exercise we did today…"

"Please, don't," Joey begged as she shook her head furiously.

"Joey, it'll be alright. I need you to relax. I want you to keep your eyes open and look at me. Remember that I won't hurt you."

Joey started biting her lip and breathed slowly until she relaxed more. Angie put her hands on Joey's shoulders and left them there.

"Are you okay?" Angie asked holding onto her shoulders.

Joey kept her eyes on Angie. The feeling to pull away lessened as she saw Angie, not Dawson, and remembered that Angie wouldn't hurt her. "I'm okay," Joey responded after a few seconds.

Angie smiled and ran her hands down her arms. "Good. See, you're improving already. I'm going to do it again, Joey, but this time I want you to close your eyes and remember that I'm the one touching you and I won't hurt you."

Joey could only nod. As soon as her eyes closed, Angie's eyes were on her shoulders. HE popped back up again. Joey could feel her body stiffening and a tear drop.

Angie felt Joey's body stiffen under her hands. "Joey, it's okay. Remember that I'm the one touching you and not him. I won't hurt you."

Joey nodded a few times. She began thinking about Angie's face and her smile. Joey's body began to relax. Angie slowly moved her hands down her arms and let go.

"You can open your eyes now, Joey." Angie smiled when Joey was looking at her. "You did wonderful, Joey. I want to keep doing this with you until you become more comfortable and in two days, you can go home."

_**XXX**_

Audrey scowled. Pacey mopped around the past month. He barely talked to anyone and he looked thinner. His eyes had bags under them from the lack of sleep.

"Pacey is a mess," Audrey said to Sarah, a waitress she sometimes conversed with.

"I know. He really misses Joey," Sarah said back looking at him.

"I can't believe someone could be so selfish. Joey probably doesn't care about what she is doing to Pacey."

"She was raped at gunpoint, Audrey. Joey has been away to deal with that so I hope that she doesn't worry about Pacey," Sarah said with attitude.

Audrey looked at Sarah. "Who asked you anyway? Get back to work before I dock your pay."

Sarah rolled her eyes and walked away.

"You deserve more than her, Pacey Witter," Audrey said to herself as she kept staring at him.

_**XXX**_

Joey went into her room and closed the door. She didn't even notice that Marci was in the room. The only thing she focused on was putting her CD into the player and playing the song.

I'm coming home to you  
I'm alive I'm a mess  
I can't wait to get home to you  
To get warm and undressed  
There've been changes beyond my dreams;  
Everybody wants me to sing  
There've been changes beyond my grasp;  
Things I'm sinking in

Joey laid down on her bed and picked up her picture of Pacey. She stared at it and smiled.

So keep me in your bed all day  
Nothing heals me like you do

And when somebody knows you well  
Well there's no comfort like that  
And when somebody needs you  
Well there's no drug like that

So keep me in your bed all day  
Nothing heals me like you do

These words fit so perfectly with what she felt. It was all about Pacey. A tear fell as she let the music wrap around her.

And where l'm home, curled in your arms  
And I'm safe again  
I'll close my eyes and sleep  
To the sound of London Rain

Nothing falls like London Rain  
Nothing heals me like you do  
Nothing falls like London Rain  
Nothing heals me like you do

As the song ended, Joey could feel that her pillow was wet.

"Joey?" Marci asked as she looked at her roommate.

Joey wiped away the tears and sat up. "Yeah?"

"Why do you always listen to that Heather Nova, London Rain, song after your sessions?"

Joey smirked. "Memories I guess."

"What about that picture you always grab onto?"

Joey looked at the picture and smiled at it. "It's my boyfriend Pacey. I miss him."

Marci smiled. "Have you talked to him today?"

Joey lifted up her head and looked at Marci. "I haven't called him all week."

"Well why the hell would you do that?"

Joey gave a sad look to her. "I don't know, Marci. He should be the one person that I would talk to for hours. We've done these activities this week where you have physical contact with someone else. Each time someone has touched me, I envision my rapist touching me and I get stiff and cry. I'm afraid that I won't be able to be touched by him and that scares me. I don't want to see someone else when it's Pacey."

Marci looked at her for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "I was serious when I said that experience kept me from going over the edge. After I was raped the first time, I shut down. I didn't talk, I didn't eat, and I didn't sleep. Everyone thought that I would die. After a while, I was back to myself again. When I was raped again, I shut down again. When I saw my mother cry before she went to bed, I realized that what I was doing wasn't only not helping me, but also hurting those who cared about me. This last time it happened, I let it barely faze me. If I would have then I probably would have killed myself by now. What I mean by all of this is that you just need to let go, Joey. Just keep pushing forward and through the fear. Eventually, you will be back to what you used to be like."

Joey watched as Marci lay back on her bed. Marci had been through so much and she was still so strong. Joey had to learn to be like that. Her first step: the phone call.

Joey picked up her room phone and dialed the number. Four rings and then the machine picked up. Joey's voice picked up.

_You've reached Pacey Witter's answering machine. Leave a message after the beep; unless you're some girl who thinks he's cute (Pacey chuckles in the background)._

Joey waited for the beep. She took a deep breath and spoke: "Hey, Pacey. It's me, Joey. I was hoping I could talk to you but I guess this is okay. I see you haven't changed that humiliating greeting I made for you. Listen, I'm really sorry I haven't called you all week. I've just been really distracted with this being my last week and all. They're trying to prepare me for when I go back into the real world. I can't wait to get out of here. I've heard that the weather has gotten really nice and Saturday should be warm.

I miss you, Pace.

I miss the way you smell and the way taste. I miss the way you smile and the way you're eyes light up when you see or hear something you love. I miss the way you look at me, all the time, whether you're sad or mad or angry or happy. I miss the way I feel when I'm in your arms and when I'm kissing you.

I love you, Pacey, and I always will."

_**XXX**_

Joey sat on an old brown plastic chair. Her bags were next to her on the old green colored tiles. Joey was nervous. Her hands tugged at the jean material that sat on her knees. It felt like time was moving extra slow that day.

That's when she saw the blue eyes.

"Hi, baby."


	20. The Reunion

Joey grew a smile that was twice as long as the Grand Canyon. Everything about that Saturday afternoon was perfect. She looked good and felt good. The sun was shining through the window and even birds were chirping. The best part, though, was Pacey.

Oh how she missed him! A whole month was spent without the feel, smell, taste, just the whole of Pacey. It was like she was living in a bad dream and only one thing could wake her up: Pacey.

Joey smiled her crooked smile from her chair. "Hi Sweetie," she responded back to his greeting.

Pacey kept his big grin. He was in awe at how much Joey changed from a month ago. When she first went here, she could barely talk above a whisper and could not go a minute without crying. Now, Joey talked normally and smiled. He had no idea how much he missed that smile until then.

"I bought you some flowers," he said handing her the bouquet.

Joey closed her eyes and smelled them. She smiled and looked at him. "They're beautiful."

"Only the best for you," Pacey replied.

Joey smirked again. "Nice line. James Bond couldn't have said it any better."

"Why, thank you," Pacey said with a smile. It was nice to have Joey and her comments back again. "Are you ready to go?"

"Um…" Joey began.

"Mr. Witter I presume," Angie said walking up to him with an extended hand.

Pacey shook her hand. "Please, call me Pacey."

"I've heard a lot about you, Pacey."

"Good things I hope."

"Very good. If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you before you take Joey home. It will only be a second."

Pacey nodded and looked to Joey. "I'll be right back, Jo. Try to not miss me too much."

Joey smirked. "You know I'll be anxiously awaiting your return."

"Great use of sarcasm," Pacey replied with a smile.

Joey blushed. "Thank you," she said softly.

Pacey gave her one last big smile before following Angie into her office. Angie took a seat behind her big desk and smiled at Pacey.

"She really comes alive with you, Pacey," Angie said with a grin.

"Joey is my whole life," Pacey replied with a serious undertone.

"That's good. I think that Joey will be back to her self in no time. I want to talk to you about the progress that she has made, Pacey. When Joey first arrived here, she was a broken woman. She wouldn't eat. She barely talked. It took us a few days until she would lie in her bed. As you can see, Joey has made tremendous progress. She eats well. She sleeps full nights and sometimes longer. She loved talking about you. There is one area, though, that progress was moving slowly. Two days ago, I had the girls partake in an activity where they are having physical contact with another group member. Joey had a bad reaction and I had to cut the session short to calm her down. We have been working together these past two days and Joey has become more comfortable with physical contact. Why I'm telling you this is because Joey might still be a bit retracted from others. If she flinches a bit when you come in contact with her, don't be alarmed. It has only been a month and she will come around eventually. Don't push her to do anything she's not ready for okay?" Angie finished with a smile.

Pacey nodded. So he would make sure to keep his distance and wait for her to come to him. "I can do that," he replied to Angie.

"Alright," Angie said. "Well, it was nice to finally meet you, Pacey. Take good care of Joey and I wish you luck."

Pacey stood up and walked back into the hallway. Pacey locked eyes with Joey and smiled. "Let's go," he said walking by her.

Joey stood up next to him. "Let's," she said with a grin and grabbed his hand.

Sparks flew from that little contact. They only held hands for the short walk to the truck, but it was pure magic.

They hoped into the truck and sat as it warmed up.

"So where are we going?" Joey asked in a sweet tone.

"Um, to my apartment I guess," Pacey said as he reversed the truck.

"Oh, okay," Joey said shortly.

Pacey glanced over to Joey quickly. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Um, no. we can go to your apartment if you want."

"If you don't want to go back there yet than just tell me. I won't get upset."

Joey bit her lip as she looked at him. "Well, it's just that I've been cooped up in that place. I was hoping we could go and get an early dinner or something."

Pacey nodded. "Of course we can."

"Can I invite Jen and Jack? I know that you want to be alone with me, Pacey, and I want to too, but I was thinking that we could spend an hour or so with them and have the rest of the night to ourselves. What do you think?"

Pacey let out a sigh. "Okay."

Joey grew a big grin. "Good; because I already set it up."

Pacey chuckled. "Thanks for consulting me first."

"Awe, sweetie, don't feel bad. I really thought about it first. Besides, I knew you would say yes."

"Is that so? Let me tell you, Potter, I can be unbelievably unpredictable," he said in a cocky voice.

"You're so cute when you're delusional." Joey grabbed his hand again. "I love you, Pacey."

Pacey smiled and rubbed her hand with his thumb. "I love you too."

_**XXX**_

"Where are they?" Joey asked looking through the crowd at Civilization.

"Jack probably ran out of hair gel," Pacey chuckled.

Joey smacked him on the arm. "Be nice. You know you could learn a thing or two from Jack. Did you even comb your hair today?"

Pacey ran a hand in his un-cut hair. "You think it's sexy."

"It still looks messy."

"So you admit it? My hair is sexy."

"You're such a narcissist," Joey retorted.

"But a sexy narcissist," he responded.

Joey rolled her eyes and stood up to greet Jack and Jen. Pacey noticed the small flinches from Joey as she hugged them.

"I'm sorry we're late. I ran out of hair gel," Jack said.

"I told you," Pacey laughed before Joey glared at him, releasing a chuckle herself.

They all took their seats and ordered. As expected, they both wanted to know what the last month was like for Joey. Joey talked and talked and talked until there was nothing left to say.

"Enough about me. How are things with Charlie, Jen?" Joey asked.

"I told you about that in the truck, Jo," Pacey said looking at her.

Joey frowned. "I'm sorry sweetie, I must have missed that," she said before placing his hand on her knee and intertwined fingers for the contact they both desperately desired.

"Oh, um, we broke up," Jen finally said.

"Oh, no. Why?" Joey asked.

"He was selfish in the sack," Jen simply stated.

"I know how that feels," Joey said softly.

Pacey lifted an eyebrow to her. "When have I ever been selfish in that area? In fact, I do believe I am very generous in that department."

Joey removed her hand from his and looked down. "I wasn't talking about you, Pacey."

Then it dawned on him. She had been with someone else, even if it was against her wishes. "Jo, I'm sorry that I…"

"Forget it," Joey said as she shook her head.

The table grew quiet. No one knew what to say. It was a good few minutes that they sat in silence.

"Does any one want dessert?" Jack asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"I'm pretty tired. I think I'm ready to leave and go to sleep. Bye guys," Joey said standing up and walking away.

Pacey pulled some money out of his wallet and put it on the table. "She'll be okay. Have a good night."

"You too," Jen and Jack said in unison as Pacey followed Joey out.

The ride to the apartment was silent. They entered the apartment and didn't say a word to each other as they changed into their pajamas. Pacey started to pull back the covers and Joey looked around. Everything was just as she remembered. Even the smell was the same.

She smiled at him. "Do you remember that CD you made for me last year? The one with all the love songs on it?"

Pacey stood up straight. "Yeah, wasn't it called 'A Musical Romance' or something like that?"

"That's the one. After I would have my therapy sessions, I always felt really stressed and depressed. I put in that CD one day and I skipped through some songs, but I stopped at 'Nothing Heals Me like You Do' and you popped into my mind. I started feeling better as the song went on. So, when my sessions were done, I would put on that song, hold onto your picture, and feel better. That song reminds me of you because, as cheesy as it may sound; nothing heals me like you do, Pacey."

Pacey could only smile. He wanted to hold her and kiss her but he didn't want her be afraid of him. "I saved every message that you left for me while you were gone and I still remember every conversation we had."

Joey looked at him with big eyes. "Why didn't you delete them?"

Pacey sighed. "How could I, Jo? Those messages were the only way I could hear your voice. Everyday, I played the messages and closed my eyes so I could picture you standing in front of me. I dreamt about you whenever I could sleep. I was a wreck without you. I missed you so much."

Joey felt a tear fall. She watched as his eyes turned into the icy blue they became when he was sad. Joey walked over to him and kissed him hard. His arms stayed by his side, afraid to touch her, but they were moved by Joey to go around her waist. She didn't even flinch. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Joey let her hands roam in his messy hair. They could stay like that forever. They yearned for each other in such a way that Beatrice Small could not have written it better. Eventually, the kiss died down and their lips separated. Still, they remained mere inches apart.

"I love you, Pacey," Joey whispered. "I am so happy when I'm with you. You make me feel alive and invincible."

Pacey licked his lips, still tasting her. "Move in with me," he whispered in a husky tone.

"What?" Joey breathed out.

"Move in with me. I don't want you to go back to that dorm as much as you. Worthington is a few blocks away so you can borrow my truck when you have class. I want to spend every moment I can with you. There is plenty of room for the both of us so move in with me," Pacey said in the same tone.

Joey grinned wide, exposing most of her teeth. "Okay," she said with a nod of her head.

Pacey smiled and kissed her. This one didn't last as long but had just as much meaning. When the kiss ended, they climbed into bed for the night. Pacey stayed on his side for most of the night. During the middle of the night, Joey decided that only she could take action to being herself again.

"Pacey," Joey whispered and kissed his forehead.

"Huh?" Pacey said drunk with sleep.

"I want you to hold me."

There was a small pause. "Are you sure?"

Joey turned away from Pacey and laid up to him in a spoon position. She took his arm and wrapped it around her hips. She felt him back away when she flinched slightly, but she just moved his arm back.

"I'm sure," she said before falling asleep for the rest of the night.


	21. Revelations

**Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update. I've been stuck. I'm back now and ready to write. I must confess. We have reached the last few chapters of Behind Closed Doors. There are only two chapters left after this one and, of course the epilogue. I won't waste anymore of your time so on to the story!**

It had been a beautiful two weeks. Joey and Pacey had spent them together, practically attached at the hip. Neither of them minded though. In fact, they didn't want to give up their fantasy world just yet.

Pacey trailed soft kisses down Joey's arm. Joey, who was thought to be asleep, giggled when he reached her hand.

"Sleeping beauty awakes," Pacey said as she turned towards him in bed.

Joey smiled. "Good morning, my prince. How did you sleep?"

Pacey sat up. "Not so well."

Joey sat up and gave him a look of concern. "Something troubling you, Pace?"

"It's just that today I have to go back into the real world after two blissful weeks alone with you all day. I'm not quite ready to give that up yet."

Joey ran a hand in Pacey's messy locks. "I'm not ready either."

"Then why do it?" Pacey said giving her a small kiss. He leaned over her and gave her a kiss after every sentence. "We could stay here all day. We could go out and explore more of the city. We could even go see one of those plays you like. One more day, Jo, just one more day."

Before Pacey could kiss her again, Joey put her hands up. "Pacey, I would love to spend another day with you but I can't; and neither can you. I told Worthington that I would be coming back today and you already took the last two weeks off. This apartment is not going to get paid on its own. Now, go and take a shower for work."

"Fine," Pacey groaned as he left the bed and went into the bathroom.

Joey smiled. She decided to get up and fix the bed. It took her all of five minutes. Then, she picked out her clothes so she could jump in the shower quickly after Pacey.

Joey walked over to the dresser and began brushing her hair in the mirror. She brushed it with soft even strokes down first before flipping her hair to one side and brushing it that way. Her neck was left exposed and a smile crept onto her face. A fond memory of Pacey popped into her mind.

_The day was cold. Wind howled outside of the frozen window and the last of the dead leaves whirled around on the street. Joey shifted her eyes to the window and frowned._

"_I hate transition time," Joey said as she refocused on brushing her hair._

"_How could you say that, Jo?" Pacey said from his place on his be. His attention was mainly focused on fixing his alarm clock._

"_Easily. I don't like the cold and it is freezing to the point of Ice age part 2. I can't believe you enjoy this weather."_

_Pacey chuckled and walked up to his girlfriend, well, the girl he was seeing anyway. "You're only cold because you have on a cami and your pajama bottoms." Pacey wrapped his arms around Joey's waist from behind and looked at her in the mirror._

_Joey placed her hands on his and smiled to him in the mirror. "Would you rather have me sleep fully clothed? Because I can if you want."_

"_I actually like the minimal clothes you have on," he said before placing soft kisses on her bare neck._

_Joey felt more and more goose bumps rise with every kiss. "I like this," she said with her eyes closed and a big smile._

"_I'm glad," Pacey responded in a husky tone. He could not get enough of this woman._

_Joey swayed slightly in his arms. "Is it okay to be like this, Pacey?"_

_Pacey stopped kissing her and look at her in the mirror. "Like what?"_

_Joey turned to face him. "Like this; having all of these feelings already. We've only been together for two months and I can't stop thinking about you. I always have these urges to be with you and kiss you. I can't even imagine being without you."_

_Pacey smiled and tucked some hair behind her ear. "It's more than okay, Joey. You're supposed to have these feelings."_

"_But so soon? I've never wanted someone so much before and never so soon."_

_Pacey kissed her softly and let his lips linger a bit longer than usual. "They just mean that we're not together for nothing."_

That was when Joey realized she was in love with Pacey.

Pacey came out of the bathroom in his clothes and sat on the bed to put on his socks. His eyes landed on Joey and noticed her lost in space expression.

"Jo? Are you okay?" Pacey asked her seriously.

Joey looked at him through the mirror before turning to him. "I was just remembering something."

Pacey smiled and stood up. "I should get going," he said before kissing her, letting his lips linger on hers longer than usual. "I'll see you after work."

Pacey headed to the door and grabbed the doorknob.

"Wait, Pace," Joey called out.

Pacey stopped and looked at her. "Yeah?"

Joey smiled. "I just wanted to tell you I love you."

Pacey smiled back. "I love you too."

_**XXX**_

Joey walked the campus back to Pacey's truck so she could go home. On her way back, her cell phone went off.

"Hello?" Joey said into the phone.

"Hey, Joey. It's Jen."

"Hey, Jen."

"So how did your first day back at Worthington go?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "Horrible. Everyone was so nice."

"And that is a problem how?"

"I've heard so many series that it was driving me crazy. I just want to scream, 'look people, I was raped so get over it.'

"I'm sorry your day didn't go well."

"I expected something like this would happen."

"It can only get better, right?"

"Not all the time, Jen. Things can get a lot worse before it gets better."

_**XXX**_

Pacey put the key in his door and went inside. All of the lights were off. He was sure that Joey would be home before him. "Joey?" Pacey called in the darkness.

Joey turned on the light of the living room. She was in her favorite red dress. Her makeup was fresh and her hair lay in soft waves on her shoulders. "Hello, Pacey," she responded with a sleek smile and began to walk to him.

Pacey smiled wide at her. "Why, hello."

Joey stopped a few inches from him. She placed a hand on his chest and leaned in closer so their noses were almost touching. "I've missed you."

"I see you're playing seductress."

"Is it working?" Joey said in a whisper.

"Oh yeah," Pacey said before capturing her in a kiss.

Before they knew it, they were lying on the couch, kissing each other hungrily. Pacey placed both hands on the side of Joey as he sat by her. Joey, who was lying down, pulled on his collar and made him lay over her. She didn't flinch. In fact, she felt amazing.

"Touch me," she whispered when he kissed her neck.

Pacey quickly stopped and looked at her. "Jo, are you sure? It's only been…"

Joey moved his hand onto her chest. "I want you to touch me, Pacey."

Pacey didn't move for a second, letting himself remember touching her like that. He smirked and began kissing her again.

A soft moan escaped Joey's mouth. She missed this. She missed the feeling of him on her and the feeling of being wanted badly.

Despite the bliss, Joey could not forget that she had to tell Pacey to touch her.

**I know, I know; it was a short chapter. I just needed some things to be established for the next chapter. There are only two chapters and the epilogue next. Review please. I love them! I will post ASAP!**


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